


Our Fathers Will Hear About This

by MeadowRue



Series: Fathers Hearing About This [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: First Kiss, Longbottom Family - Freeform, M/M, Malfoy Family, Parseltongue, Potter Family, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:35:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 57,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25936762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeadowRue/pseuds/MeadowRue
Summary: Neville, Draco and Scorpius are a happy family.We’ll see Scorpius grow up with his two dads, Albus struggle with who he is, Draco come to terms with the fact that he’s one of the good ones now, and Neville learn the hard way that love simply isn’t enough sometimes.Oh. And of course: Scorpius and Albus will fall for each other head over heels <3
Relationships: Neville Longbottom/Draco Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Series: Fathers Hearing About This [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882387
Comments: 123
Kudos: 145





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally here! The Sequel of "Your Father Will Hear About This"!
> 
> Enjoy :D

Albus was so excited he hadn't slept a wink last night. It was the 1st of September, the start of a new term at Hogwarts.

Well, he could live without Hogwarts, but there was one precious person for whom he would do anything, even endure an endless train ride to Hogsmeade where he would finally meet Scorpius again.

His friend was already waiting at the train station when Albus arrived. He waved at him and gave him one of his beautiful smiles and Albus felt with a sudden pang in his chest how much he had missed the blond.

They had spent a lot of time together at the beginning of the holidays, but then Albus had to go on holiday with his family and when they were back again, Scorpius left for France with his father and Neville. So it had been almost four weeks. Scorpius had grown a bit and his face had gotten slightly more angular, which somehow made his beautiful cheekbones stand out more prominently.

"Albus!" His voice had also gotten a bit deeper, Albus thought, but he sounded as kind and gentle as always.

"Hi there," Albus breathed and closed his eyes for a moment when the blond drew him in for a tight hug.

"I've missed you...," Scorpius mumbled into the crook of his neck, which made Albus smile.

"I've missed you too," he replied as he let go of Scorpius slowly again.

The blond smiled. "Come on, you must be so hungry after the long train ride! Did everything go as planned? I can help you carry your trunk, Neville has already brought mine up to the castle. Are you so excited for the new school year to begin as well? I can't _wait_ for all our new subjects to start, I think Care of Magical Creatures will be _divine_..."

Albus smiled, rejoicing in the fact that he could listen to Scorpius's sweet rambling again.

"Yeah, I'm excited too," he smiled as they made their way towards the castle. He didn't tell Scorpius that all of their new subjects could never be as interesting to him as spending time with his best friend though.

*

After dinner, they went to their dorm and cuddled up in Scorpius's bed with the curtains of the fourposter drawn. They always did that when they hadn't seen each other for a long time – it was as if they needed to recharge their batteries by being close to the other and talking about everything that had happened to them in the last four weeks.

When their smallest fingers hooked into each other, Scorpius started telling him in his soft voice about his holiday in Burgundy.

"It was really lovely there – Daddy and Neville had rented a small villa near a river and it was just _wonderful_. The landscape is so beautiful and it is very calm and relaxing. I read and drew a lot and we went for long walks... I just wished you'd been there with me. I bet you would have liked it too. Daddy said you could come next year – wherever we go."

Albus blinked at his friend. "He – he – I mean: really?"

"Yes, of course really," Scorpius replied with a smile, "Otherwise I wouldn't have said so. I'd love to go on holiday with you, Albus. And Daddy and Neville like you a lot, too. You'd be very welcome."

"Oh, I – I'd _love_ to, Scorpius. But I don't know what...I'd have to ask my parents first." And that might be a bit of a problem, but hey, he could try. Things recently weren't as bad between them as they had been once.

"Of course," Scorpius replied, "We won't go until next summer anyway. So there's loads of time to think about it. How is your family anyway?" he then added and Albus knew that he actually meant how they had gotten along during the holidays.

"Yeah. Fine," he shrugged and noticed how he got a bit grumpy. "I mean. Better. Let's not talk about it. Let's talk about – I don't know," Albus noticed how his smile came back, "Just _talk_ , you know I like to listen to you."

"Yeah?" the blond giggled. "You do? You still do? My voice has changed a bit, hasn't it? Sometimes it gets _very high_ in between _lowest lows_ ," he tried to mimic that, which sounded just hilarious.

Albus laughed gently. "I could never get sick of you talking. No matter how much your voice changes or not."

Scorpius smiled at that and it looked so – bloody hell, yes, so _beautiful_ , that Albus did all the more jump when suddenly, there was a whistle from outside of their curtains and a mumbled "Salazar, it's day one and they're already at it again..."

Scorpius's smile faltered and that was all the reason for Albus to draw his wand and jump –

"Albus, please. No," Scorpius mumbled and gently touched his arm to keep him from jumping out of bed, "He's not worth it."

Albus hesitated, his wand pointed in the direction where Karl's voice was coming from. He tried very hard to make that nasty feeling inside of him go away. He counted to ten, like Neville had told him after the last time he had gotten detention because he had cursed someone. But those two bloody Gryffindors had had it coming, writing ugly words on the front of Draco's shop, making him and his son cry, and then teasing Scorpius about it in the hall the next day...

They definitely had deserved it to get their eyes swollen shut. He still thought so. No remorse on his side. Nope. He didn't have to tell anybody though.

But he did feel bad about the fact that, because of his immediate abduction to McGonagall's office, he had had to leave Scorpius alone, and that was indeed a flaw in his plan.

So, thinking before acting _was_ important. And Scorpius didn't cry and Karl had gone on to babble about Quidditch, so...

With a sigh, Albus lowered his wand.

That Scorpius gently stroked his arm and smiled at him, told him that it had been the right decision.

"You can get them for that at the Duelling Club," he whispered and winked.

Albus laughed quietly. "Yeah. You're probably right," he whispered and felt himself calming down again.

The Duelling Club had been Neville's idea – apparently, something like that had existed when he and Draco had attended school. Back then, it was an extracurricular club that students could attend to practice the spells they learned in Defence Against the Dark Arts. The focus was on defending oneself against possible harm, and while it had been more dangerous to be at Hogwarts when their parents were young, Albus had liked the idea so much that he could persuade Neville to at least _ask_ the Headmistress whether they couldn't start such a club again.

McGonagall had considered the proposal for a while, but eventually, she had agreed to give the idea a chance. The club's first meeting would take place at the end of this week and Albus was already really excited about it. After Neville had told him about it, he had practiced duelling with Draco during the holidays. Scorpius's dad had been hesitant at first, but once he had made clear that he simply wanted to learn how to block unfriendly spells so he could protect Scorpius and himself, Draco had given in.

And for the first time in his life, Albus had had the feeling that he was really _good_ in a branch of magic that involved using his wand. Duelling came naturally to him, and with Draco's tutoring, he felt confident that he wouldn't make a fool of himself in the club.

He was so lost in thought about the whole thing that he only noticed that Scorpius was watching him when the smaller one giggled and elbowed him a bit.

"I can see you can barely wait for it to start," he smiled. Before Albus could reply, there came another whistle and a snort from Karl, and Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"May I?" he asked kindly and extended his hand towards Albus's wand.

Albus was so surprised at this that he simply handed it to him. "Yeah, sure, but what are you – ," he wanted to know but Scorpius had already raised his wand and muttered " _Muffliato_ ". A quiet buzzing sound could be heard for a moment and Albus saw Scorpius smile.

"Now he can't hear us talking anymore. Daddy told me that spell so we won't be bothered so much by the others anymore. Thank you," he added and handed Albus's wand back. "Your wand works really well. But I think it noticed that it wasn’t its owner who used it, it tingled a bit when I cast the spell." He smiled and cuddled up to Albus again.

"We were talking about the Duelling Club..."

"Oh. Yeah," Albus said, but couldn't come up with anything else to say, because he was still thinking: _Scorpius had used my wand._ It had tingled a bit. He wanted to know how it felt when he used Scorpius's wand.

But for now, he was simply happy to hold Scorpius close. They talked a bit about their first day of school tomorrow and the classes they would attend until they fell asleep like that – cuddled up against each other, Scorpius's chin resting comfortably on Albus's shoulder and one of Albus's arms loosely draped over the blond.

*

They started their first day with Study of Ancient Runes, a subject both Albus and Scorpius had chosen as they were very interested in learning about an old language. As it didn't involve a lot of wandwork either, Albus felt quite comfortable in the class.

They had Transfiguration next and even though Albus liked Headmistress McGonagall alright, he wasn't very skilled in the subject. But he could sit next to Scorpius, which was more than enough for Albus, and his best friend, who was really good in Transfiguration, always helped him as best as he could.

After the lunch break, it was time for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson and Albus could tell how excited Scorpius was. Even if they weren't starting with Hippogriffs (Scorpius’s favourite creature by far), his friend was extremely looking forward to the class and Albus loved to see him so happy.

And Scorpius really got along well even with Flobberworms, which Hagrid seemed to notice as well as he awarded 20 points to Slytherin for Scorpius's great job at the end of the lesson.

*

On Thursday morning, Albus could sleep in if he was ready to skip breakfast (which he was), because whereas Scorpius had taken Muggle Studies as his third optional subject, this was his free period.

It was weird, waking up in an empty dormitory with no blond bouncing ball of joy around, so maybe Albus would at least join his friend at breakfast next week, he decided.

They met in DADA later, where Scorpius threw himself at him with the most breath-taking, beaming smile on his lips and started to ramble on about how great Muggles were.

"They have this fascinating power they call electricity, you know?" (He totally ignored his "yeah, I do".) "You can use it for all kinds of awesom-est things! Mrs Bell showed us this, er – er... _electric torch_! It's like _Lumos_! It's like magic! Albus, this is so awesome!"

Even though Albus couldn't share this excessive enthusiasm about Muggle inventions, because he always associated them with annoying gifts from uncle Ron or uncle George or just boring daily routine at home, he still noted down in his homework book to gift Scorpius a torch any time soon.

What he personally was more enthusiastic about was the duelling club.

It started on Friday afternoon on a voluntary basis for all students from third year up and was supervised by their DADA Professor Christopher Harrow and their Potions teacher Sherly McNeil, because in the old duelling room, they had two platforms where the duels would take place, one for advanced duellists and one for beginners.

After a boring introduction for everyone (mostly about the duelling code Draco had already taught him, and special rules for now), all three and four years that had come were supposed to gather around the left one where McNeil addressed them.

Scorpius still seemed a bit hesitant, so Albus had to take his hand as not to lose him when he cleared them a path through the crowd so he could stand at the very front.

"I don't get why you're so excited. I'm scared," his friend whispered.

"You don't have to participate if you don't want to," Albus assured him, "You can have a look first and then make up your mind, okay?"

"But...but are you sure you want to go?" Scorpius tugged at his hand.

"Yes, absolutely sure," Albus replied and sounded very determined, "I've already trained so much with your dad, I feel very confident about it. And you've heard McNeil, we'll mostly do protective spells first. Don't worry, okay?" He smiled at him and then was the first one to raise his hand when their Potions teacher asked for a first pair of volunteers.

"Albus! Very good. Come up here. Who else?"

Albus gave Scorpius another reassuring smile and gently squeezed his hands before he went up to their long duelling stage. While he did so, he could hear the other students whisper, Karl too, and most of them seemed to be discussing if they should go first too, because ‘Squib Potter’ would be an easy target…

Albus was determined to be anything but an easy target.

"Oh, so many? It can only be one. Er, Karl, I think you've been first, right? Common here."

Albus tried not to, but in the end, he couldn't help but grin. Karl. It couldn't have started better.

"You've heard how Professor Harrow explained the single steps of the duelling code. Have you got any questions concerning them?"

"No, madam," Albus replied immediately, not letting Karl out of his sight.

"No questions," Karl confirmed too, so Professor McNeil stepped back.

"Okay, then. I want to see perfect manners from both of you, gentlemen. We're starting with one exchange of spells, then we're gonna speak about it, alright?"

Albus nodded and could see Karl do so too.

"Okay, perfect. Then please: begin."

As Albus had learned it from Draco, he walked towards Karl to meet him in the middle where they drew their wands. Usually you bowed to each other then, which Albus kept to a minimum though, because he surely wasn't gonna bow all the way to a thickhead like Karl.

Then they turned around and walked back to the end of the platform. Albus had to admit he was more excited than when duelling with Draco, but this was dumb Karl who only had a big mouth and not nearly as much experience as Scorpius's dad. He could do this. He could do this for Scorpius.

The second he turned around, he was already forming his first spell inside his head – and when he shouted " _Protego_!" and Karl's _Expelliarmus_ flashed towards him, he could have patted himself on the back for not going for an attacking spell first.

The light bounced off his shield and his wand stayed perfectly safe in his grip.

Karl looked surprised, then pissed.

"Wonderful!" Professor McNeil interrupted. "We've seen two excellent spells for defending yourself here," she spoke to the whole class, and while she explained what they had seen, Albus looked over to Scorpius.

The blond was looking up to him and Albus could tell that he was still worried, but he also looked _really_ impressed. And proud. He locked eyes with him immediately and then gestured towards the necklace with the small ball containing a miniature Snitch Albus had given him for his 12th birthday and that Scorpius was wearing all the time. At the moment, he was clutching the pendant very hard in his hand and pressed it against his chest as if to say _I'm here, I'm with you, You're not alone_.

Albus couldn't explain why and how, but every time Scorpius was looking at him like this, did something so bloody sweet like this, his heart started racing and he felt _so_ good, almost invincible.

So Albus was more alert than ever when their professor told them to take their positions again, because both Karl and he had asked her for another round before they would switch volunteers.

"Alright. Take your stand, good. On the count of three. One...two..."

Karl shouted " _Flipendo_!" and this time Albus felt the blast against his protection shield, but he had also learned to place his feet apart and bend his knees from Draco, as not to lose his balance, and, mind you, Karl's Flipendo was nothing compared to Draco's.

Their professor was already starting to compliment them again, but this time Albus could see that Karl wasn't leaving his aggressive posture so he didn't lower his wand either.

"Protego again?" he laughed. "Is that all you got? You're not gonna impress your Death Eater princess like that. _Mimblewimble_!"

Albus was surprised about himself that he was able to muster the calmness to cast a Protego first (but he supposed Draco had successfully drummed that into his head), before he stormed towards Karl yelling: " _Rictusempra_!", and because, though reduced to a heap of laughter on the floor, that wanker was still raising his wand again, he finished him off with a: " _Petrificus Totalu_ s!"

"Enough! This is enough!" McNeil shouted and stepped in. She shot Albus a scolding look but didn't tell him off as she had probably noticed too that Karl had been the one who had taken the duel a step too far. She raised her wand to release Karl from Albus's Body-Bind Curse and once the tosser was able to move again, he shot Albus a fearful look, scrambled to his feet and wanted to flee the stage.

"Not so quick, Mr Jankins, we haven't discussed the spells you have used yet. But first I will take 30 points from Slytherin for rude behaviour, insulting a fellow student and disobeying my orders."

The Slytherin's groaned, but actually, Albus couldn't have cared less. He had shown Karl that he was a force to be reckoned with and that he couldn't get away with insulting Scorpius in front of him. And by the fearful look in his classmate's eyes, that message seemed to have sunk in.

Nevertheless, Albus couldn't wait until the professor was finished with discussing what spells they had used and pointing out that especially the Tongue-Tying Curse used by Karl had been out of place in this kind of competition and totally useless against a fully trained witch or wizard who would be able to cast their spells wordlessly.

But this was no news to Albus, who only wanted to get down from that stage and hug Scorpius.

His best friend did just that once he had finally managed to make his way through to him.

"You were so great, Albus! Unbelievable, really!" he praised him as he drew him into a tight hug. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Yes, of course," Albus beamed as he could feel his chest nearly burst with pride. Merlin, this was so weird and at the same time so good what Scorpius could do to him. "And you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I was worried, but I knew that you would make it. Merlin, you're so great at duelling! And you... you defended me again. Thank you. I'm so proud that you're my friend."

"I – Me too, I mean I – "

Albus thought, for a moment, that he couldn't breathe anymore and had to die here in Scorpius's arms, but then, he found a way to express what he was feeling by drawing Scorpius into a crushing embrace and everything felt okay. Better than okay. Better than best.

Shit, this must be the adrenalin from winning.


	2. Proud Creatures

"Still in bed, darling?"

Neville blinked sleepily and smiled as he looked into Draco's beautiful eyes.

"It's my free day today," he mumbled, "And our bed is comfortable."

"Well yes – I have to agree," Draco replied with a grin and Neville felt the mattress dip a bit as his boyfriend lay down next to him.

Neville smiled and drew the blond into a hug.

Wednesday had become his favourite day of the week. Usually, he spent his mornings working in the greenhouses or correcting essays, but since it was only the third week of school and there wasn't so much to do yet, he had decided to sleep in today. And it was just wonderful to be awoken by Draco, who always closed the shop around midday on Wednesday so they could spend the afternoon together.

"What are you doing?", Draco huffed, and Neville could hear how hard he tried so sound genuinely annoyed, "This is my new suit, you're not going to ruin it with your clumsy hugs."

"I'll iron it later on, I promise," Neville grinned and let his fingers trail down Draco's sides. "It fits you so well, darling..."

"Oh, do you think so?" Draco replied, one eyebrow raised, his hand brushing Neville's shoulder, his collarbone, down to his chest. "I can't quite recall what you are wearing under that blanket. It seems since Scorpius is at school again, you let yourself go..."

"Oh, and this bothers you?" Neville replied and caught Draco's fingers in his, "Sorry, I wasn't aware of that... then I should get dressed, hm?"

Draco scowled. "You wouldn't dare," he murmured and faster than Neville could react the blond was straddling him, his suit-clad bottom rutting against his bare crotch, the blanket pushed down to his knees and Draco's incredible lips on his, caught in a deep and almost bruising kiss.

"M-mh...," he panted and his hands found Draco's hips, "You're fierce today..." He grinned and licked his lips. "Does that come with the suit as well?"

Draco smirked and Neville gasped when he bit his lip and pinched both of his nipples at the same time. "You don't wear a suit like this and shilly-shally. When you wear a suit like this…" He rolled his hips and Neville could feel one of the seams of his expensive trousers rub along his rapidly growing erection – _definitely_ not by accident. "You create _faits accomplis_."

Neville moaned and couldn't resist gripping Draco's perfect bum through the tight trousers. "Then why don't you... keep most of that suit on and show me how you do that, love?"

"Oh, don't worry," Draco smirked, "I'm already in the midst of doing so."

And he probably meant Neville's now fully erect cock rubbing against the soft fabric of his suit.

Too many long, agonising minutes he continued just like that, giving him only kisses and this friction, despite all his pleas for more.

Then, finally – Neville was already sighing with anticipation when Draco started to move – he let go of him completely.

Neville complained and tried to pull his boyfriend back into his lap, but Draco beat his hands away and scolded him.

Instead, he opened his belt and turned around on top of him, and that's when Neville knew this wasn't gonna be so bad after all...

He moaned when Draco presented him with his butt, the trousers pulled down just enough so he could see his delicious hole and balls.

"Common, open me up. Don't worry, I've cleaned myself. How you do it is your decision."

Neville groaned and pulled the blond closer. "You've planned this, haven't you?" He couldn't help but growl a bit, because fuck, Draco was driving him crazy like this. "Well, then I guess you've also planned for me to prepare you the way you like it best, haven't you?" He grinned as he licked and gently bit Draco's bum. "Do you want me to lick you open, my love?"

He could feel Draco tremble with lust, which made his "Don't ask stupid questions and already do it" sound less rude. On top of that, he shoved his butt right in Neville's face, who chuckled breathlessly before grabbing his boyfriend's hips and starting his ministration.

Only a few minutes later, Draco was sitting in his lap again and fucking him like crazy.

Neville couldn't cope with this picture of Draco in his impeccable suit, the façade of control and perfection ruined more and more with every thrust, his strict hairdo losing its shape, his stern face drowning in lust, the noises he made coming close to uncontrolled and sheer desperation.

And when he came, he dirtied his trousers and shirt and his jacket and made Neville so bloody happy.

"Don't grin like that...," he mock scolded him after he had sunk down on his boyfriend, his head resting comfortably on Neville's shoulder. "I saw how you looked at me when I bought that suit. You only restrained yourself because Scorpius was with us. I could tell that otherwise, you would have fucked me right away in that changing room..."

Neville chuckled softly, pulling Draco close and feeling the soft fabric underneath his fingers. "Exactly," he replied with a big grin, before he gave his boyfriend a gentle kiss.

"We should have a shower together," he suggested after a while of cuddling, "And your suit too."

Draco snorted. "Indeed," he replied and gave Neville another loving kiss. "Let's go."

They had showered and were enjoying a late brunch when Neville noticed that Draco seemed a bit lost in thought.

"You okay, darling?" he wanted to know and caught Draco's fingers with his, "You're so quiet."

"Oh," Draco smiled, "I've just remembered that today will finally be the Care of Magical Creatures lesson my son has longed for – and I've dreaded for so long."

Neville laughed gently. "Oh, so they'll learn about Hippogriffs today?"

Draco managed to chuckle and look annoyed at the same time. "Yes..."

"So? Scorpius has been really good with animals and creatures until now, hasn't he?"

Draco sighed. "Yes, you're right. I should probably stop worrying. After all, Hippogriffs don't remember faces for more than 20 years, or do they? Oh, and that, er...what was its name again? ran away anyway, didn't it?"

Neville blinked. "Er, you mean Buckbeak? No, he came back for the Battle of Hogwarts and then stayed with Hagrid. I'm pretty sure he'll introduce him to his class today. But what do you mean with they don't remember fa – " He stopped, finally realising what Draco meant. When he did, he felt really stupid for not noticing the problem. Scorpius looked a lot like Draco when he was young. And yes, Hippogriffs did –

"Wait, what did you say?"

"What did I say when?"

"With the faces. Draco, of course Hippogriffs remember faces! When you've been rude to them once they'll never forget!"

"I – I didn't know that that thing was still around!" Draco panicked, "Otherwise I would have warned Scorpius, I – Neville, we have to do something!"

"Yes, I think we have," Neville was on his feet immediately. "You calm down, I'll go and sort this out, okay?"

"B-but can't I – " Draco replied, but seemed to realise just in that moment that he probably wasn't the right person to do anything about this matter. "Alright, but – b-but let me know immediately if something..."

"Of course. I got this, darling. Calm down, okay?" Neville replied and gently pressed a kiss to Draco's forehead before he hurried away.

*

Neville Apparated as close to the Hogwarts grounds as possible, then jogged the rest of the way until he could already see where Hagrid had gathered all the students at the first clearing in the forest.

He slowed down considerably, because he could already see the herd of Hogwarts Hippogriffs and didn't want to scare them. Instead, he tried to make his way past all the Slytherin and Gryffindor students, who eyed him suspiciously, to somehow catch Hagrid's eye. That was the plan.

"Oh, Professor Longbottom," Rose chirped when she saw him, "What are you doing – "

"Hi, er, sorry, Rose, gotta go on..."

"Are you here to watch Scorpius?"

"Scorpius? Yes, I mean – what?"

He turned his head with a bad feeling in his guts and was confronted with the sight of Buckbeak, of all the Hippogriffs him!, on Hagrid's leash standing in the middle of the clearing and Scorpius, his head already bowed politely, in front of it.

"Oh, bollocks," he mumbled and shifted slightly to the left so that Hagrid could hopefully see him.

Unfortunately, the gamekeeper interpreted his waving and nodding as a nice greeting and, smiling proudly, only waved back at him, before he quickly returned his attention to Buckbeak who was now starting to flap his wings and got onto his hind legs, which was _not_ a good sign.

"Oh, Buckbeak's a bit grumpy today, maybe yer better back away, Scorpius."

But Scorpius didn't listen. He bowed his head even lower and held his hands very still. Neville was thinking frantically how he could get him out of there; his aim was not the best, so he wasn't sure if a Protego… – His tactics would be to just storm towards him and tackle him to the side before Buckbeak could get any worse, but he couldn't actually do that, could he? In front of the whole class? Scorpius hadn't stopped talking about this moment for weeks, he couldn't –

Neville was surprised when the blond made one step back – and slowly sank to his hands and knees in front of the Hippogriff who looked equally surprised like everybody else.

Someone chuckled into the excited quietness. "Yeah, bet he's good at that..."

There was a funny moment when Buckbeak yanked his head around to fix that student with a death glare and the boy stumbled backwards, successfully intimidated.

Scorpius though was doing a great job not to move, and when Buckbeak turned back to him, Neville let out a relieved sigh, because he was almost sure now that no one had to intervene here.

"Oh. That's a surprise," Hagrid mumbled, while Buckbeak made a few careful steps towards Scorpius, then bowed his own head until his feathers touched Scorpius's hair.

Neville could see how Scorpius stayed on the ground a moment, then he carefully lifted his head a bit and smiled at the Hippogriff.

Neville smiled too, especially as he saw Albus sigh with relief.

"I think you may pat 'im now," Hagrid said, and so Scorpius slowly reached out to pat Buckbeak, who looked as if he enjoyed the treatment – and when he lifted his head, pulled Scorpius to his feet.

"Oooh, your plumage is _so_ soft!" Neville heard him whisper, "And you're so, so pretty, I can't believe you let me pet you, I've been looking forward to this since _ages_ , since I started school, no since I learned drawing..."

Neville chuckled and was glad that everything turned out fine. He decided to leave the clearing unnoticed by Scorpius and head back home; Draco surely wanted to know how his son was doing.

"It's fine," Neville chuckled, when Draco already met him at the front door. "Everything's fine."

"Are you sure? What happened?" Draco wanted to know and still looked alarmed, "Is Scorpius alright?"

"Yeah, he's marvellous," Neville replied, dragging Draco with him into the flat. "He was doing great! He stayed so still and bowed even lower, and then Buckbeak let him pat him, and I think he's very fond of him."

Draco still looked worried, but he sighed eventually and shook his head. "Merlin, I'm so relieved nothing happened to him."

Neville chuckled as he soothingly rubbed Draco's shoulders. "It's true that Hippogriffs hold grudges, but apparently they are also very intelligent and attentive."

So Draco was calmed down for the rest of the day, which played into Neville's hands, who got a lot of cuddling and snogging and even more out of it, and after a wonderful day that ended just as hot as it had begun with his gorgeous boyfriend, Neville could have enjoyed a great, relaxing morning if…

If Scorpius's owl hadn't delivered his letter to their bedroom, in which he described in excruciating detail how thrilling flying on Buckbeak's back had been.

"You didn't stop him?!"

"I was already – "

"You should have stayed! He could have hurt himself – he could have died! That bloody chicken could have killed him!"

"Draco, love, relax," Neville tried to calm him by stroking his back, "Scorpius was really doing fine. He's so great with animals. And Buckbeak must really like and trust him, otherwise he would have never let him ride him."

Draco hid his face in his hands and groaned. "Salazar..." He sighed. Put his hands down.

Then he looked at Neville, who could see that one corner of his mouth was twitching. "Can you please drop that piece of information about my son next time you're around Potter?"

Neville chuckled. "Sure, darling. Now come back here...," he pleaded and opened his arms for Draco with a broad smile.

And, surprisingly enough, Draco complied.


	3. The thing with the babies...

"Wake up, sunshine!"

It was six o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday when Scorpius came dancing into their dormitory, spun around Albus's bedposts and let himself flop onto his friend's mattress.

"Wake up, sunshine!" he sang, ignoring the grumbles from the other boys, because he was sure no one dared to tell him to shut up anymore, not after Albus's performance at the duelling club last Friday – he still got Pixies in his belly when he thought about it!

"M-mh...?" Albus grumbled and rubbed his eyes, "Scorpius? Merlin, why are you already so awake?"

Scorpius giggled. "Next time I'll call you cumulonimbus. I was feeding Buckbeak his breakfast, you dork. If you get up, have a shower and dress properly, we can go down to the Great Hall and I can feed you yours too."

Albus snorted and rolled around in his bed. "Five minutes, okay?" he pleaded and hooked his smallest finger into Scorpius's.

"Okay," Scorpius couldn't help but grant him his request. "But can I stay?"

"Of course," Albus smiled and made room for Scorpius in his fourposter. "C'mere..."

Scorpius skidded closer so he could put his head on the pillow too. "Your hair looks like Buckbeak's nest," he noted with a grin, but Albus was too tired to nudge or pinch him.

He closed his eyes as well, thinking about how awesome their day would be and how awesome it had already started. It was two weeks now since he had ridden on Buckbeak's back and it had been the most intense and exhilarating experience in his life so far.

*

After breakfast, they had Potions, a subject Albus was very good at and usually also very fond of. Only since last week, he didn't seem as excited about it anymore, as Scorpius had noticed.

They had started with sexual education, a topic they also dealt with in Herbology, as both subjects were closely related. They had already been educated about this topic at the beginning of their second year, but their classes now focused not so much on general information, but on different potions and plants that were connected with the matter.

While Scorpius noticed that some of his fellow classmates giggled a lot during these lessons or got very red as if they were embarrassed, he was totally at ease with it. He had already talked to his daddy after they had treated the topic in second year, and he had explained to him that there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"As we've already talked about the effects of Mandrake Elixir last week: Has anyone an idea how this connects to the menstrual cycle?" Ms McNeil asked.

Scorpius gasped, because he had already thought about that while their teacher had told them about the female cycle and discussed it with a few girls during the last minutes. Quickly he raised his arm.

"Yes, Scorpius?" Ms McNeil smiled at him.

"We've discussed the healing powers of Mandrakes in Herbology last week. I'm sure the elixir can be used to ease menstrual pains as well?"

"Exactly," the professor smiled at him, making him beam proudly and ignore the snickers coming from Karl and his friends. Instead he gave Albus an enthusiastic look, but his friend only averted his gaze and scratched the wooden desk with one fingernail.

Scorpius bit his lip and thought that he had better ask Albus what was up later on. He couldn't remember that anything bad had happened in Potions lately, but then again something else might be troubling his best friend.

That's why he sat down next to him on a quiet window-seat in the library where Albus had spread out his books after their last lesson to start with his homework.

"Albus, you know I have to go to Quidditch practise in twenty minutes, but I have to ask you a question first, is that okay?"

Albus looked up at him, puzzled. "Yes, of course," he then smiled, even if he sounded a bit careful, "You don't have to ask me first if you can ask me a question, Scorpius."

"Okay," Scorpius smiled and hooked his own fingers together. "I wanted to ask you if something is the matter. Normally, you're always having great fun during Potions, it's your favourite subject, isn't it? So why don't you seem to like it anymore?"

"Ah, I..." Albus looked away shyly and hesitated. "It's still my favourite subject. It's just... look, can we talk about this later?" he wanted to know and looked around. "Maybe somewhere more... private?"

Scorpius blinked, but didn't hesitate. "Sure! When do you want to talk?"

"After dinner?" Albus suggested. "In the dormitory?"

Scorpius smiled. "Yes, that sounds great. Then I'll see you at dinner, right?"

"Yes," Albus replied and sounded relieved, "See you at dinner."

*

At dinner, Albus ate poorly, something that Scorpius noticed of course, but his gentle tries to make his friend eat more stayed rather fruitless. Maybe it was something very serious he had to tell him. He was so worried...

Finally, they had changed into their casual clothes and barricaded themselves with a Muffliato in Albus's bed.

Albus looked worried too, but he also looked like he was ready to talk. At least in theory.

"I, er...it's...it's the topic, okay?" he began slowly, biting his lip which looked rather cute, Scorpius had to admit, and playing with the blanket between them.

"The topic?" Scorpius asked curiously, "You mean the one we're dealing with in class? Sexual education?"

Albus nodded. "It's... I don't get how you can talk so casually about all that stuff, is – isn't it weird to talk about something like that?"

"No, why would it be?" Scorpius replied and gave Albus a reassuring smile. "I think it's an important topic. And Daddy has told me that there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Albus visibly cringed at that, so Scorpius already thought he had said something wrong, but then his friend seemed to muster some courage and finally looked at him. If only for a second.

"Can... can I ask you something?"

Scorpius chuckled softly. "You don't have to ask me first if you can ask me a question, Albus."

Albus snorted, and the blond was happy about that reaction.

"Okay, I just wanted – You... you've already had your... your first ejaculation, right?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yes. I had it during the holidays at home, and Merlin, I was so embarrassed, because first I thought I had peed in my bed, but then Daddy said it was all fine and explained to me what had happened."

Albus nodded. He looked really embarrassed, but that was cute in some way.

To break the silence, Scorpius softly added: "And you?"

That's when Albus bit his lip and furrowed his brow as he nodded slowly. "I was.. .embarrassed too, tried to hide the sheets a-and – but James caught me and he... Bloody hell, he humiliated me in front of the whole – a-and you know what Dad said? He said I shouldn't worry, it's pretty normal, patted my knee a-and then... then he was gone again, and I could see that he was totally embarrassed too!"

"Oh – I'm sorry that your brother made fun of you because of that," Scorpius replied gently, "And that your dad reacted like that. Honestly, Albus, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's _natural_ that these things happen. And it's okay to talk about it." He smiled reassuringly at his friend.

Albus nodded, but he didn't seem convinced. "But isn't it – ," he began, stopping himself. Biting his lip. He should stop with that, it was already pretty red...

"What?" Scorpius asked softly.

"I asked you that because it seems – you seem like you're not – you react very differently than... than me and the other guys who are constantly giggling." He rolled his eyes. "Doesn't it... doesn't it freak you out too that... that this means we're supposed to act like adults now? Like fall in love a-and... and have... sex?" he asked so quietly, Scorpius wouldn't have heard him if he hadn't been so close.

Scorpius blinked at him and it suddenly dawned on him why this topic made Albus so nervous. "But, Albus – _no_ ," he said and shook his head, "You shouldn't feel pressured to do any of those things just because we are taught about it now. Look, I... when Daddy told me it means I can have babies now, I freaked too, but just because we _can_ doesn't mean we _have to_ – or have to think about it. It's important to know about these things early on, so we're aware of risks and consequences, but it doesn't mean we have to _do_ anything. It's... as I've already said, Daddy told me it's only because of our nature that this happens so early. It's because of the early history of our species, for survival, when humans only aged like up to thirty. So fifteen would be half of it, and if we age up to eighty or even hundred now, we could still have babies with forty or fifty. Or never," Scorpius felt the need to add. "I've read that there are people who don't like sex at all, and that's fine too."

Albus nodded, but he still looked hesitant. "I don't know if... if I feel like that. It's just that... I don't know, James is always making so many rude jokes about it and it... it always sounds so _disgusting_...," Albus said and really looked freaked out because of that. "And now that I know that there's also _blood_ , I... I don't know. I just know that I'm not ready for this..."

Scorpius smiled softly and gently took Albus's hands, which were all cold and sweaty, but he still held them tightly and entwined their fingers. "You don't have to be, Albus. Everyone is ready in their own time. I don't want to see any part of any girl naked yet either... Are we okay?"

Albus really looked relieved at that. "Yes...," he replied after a short moment and took a deep breath. "We're okay. Sorry, that I was... I guess if someone had talked to me about it like your dad did..."

"It's fine," Scorpius smiled, still stroking Albus's fingers. "I understand. I would have felt the same in your place. But you can always talk to me, Albus. About _anything_. And if you'd like to talk to an adult about things like these, I... I think Neville would be a good person to talk to as well. He's your godfather after all. And I think he would be very understanding. He always is."

Albus blinked as if this option hadn't even occurred to him yet. "Oh. You're right. Ah, but... I'd not want him to tell my dad..."

"He wouldn't! Really. Neville is a man of honour."

Albus nodded thoughtfully and bit his lip again.

"Hey, you... don't," Scorpius chuckled and couldn't help now but to gently touch the bruised lip so Albus would stop worrying it with his teeth. "You'll draw blood if you continue like this."

Albus stopped and blinked at Scorpius. "You're right...," he then laughed quietly, "I always do that when I'm nervous. But I... I feel better now. Thank you."

Scorpius smiled fondly. "That makes me happy," he said quietly. "I'm always happy when you feel good. Do you want to eat something now? Properly, I mean? We could sneak into the kitchens..."

Albus laughed gently. "Yes," he nodded, "That sounds like a good plan."


	4. The thing with that snake...

Thanks to Scorpius's advice, sexual education was far easier to bear during the following weeks. The topic still made Albus a bit nervous and he was far from participating in class, but he didn't feel as pressured anymore as he had before. Now that he knew that Scorpius wasn't ready to do any of those things either, he didn't feel so lost and confused anymore.

Eventually, they moved on to different topics in both Potions and Herbology and Albus couldn't help but feel relieved. Their next topic in Herbology was "profits and threats of indigenous plants and how to recognise them", which was actually pretty fascinating.

Neville had even decided that they would all go on a field trip together to look for some of the plants and herbs they had learned about in class and Albus was really looking forward to that. Generally, he liked being outside, as he felt that nature usually had a really calming and relaxing effect on him. And of course, he loved Scorpius's enthusiasm whenever they went outside to discover something new.

"Look, Albus, I've found these as well!" He proudly held up some herbs they were supposed to be looking for before he carefully put them in his bag. "And there might even be some more over there, come..."

He went on through the high grass and Albus followed him. Their group had split up a bit to explore different parts of the area, but they weren't allowed to go too far away so that Neville could still see all of them.

"I'm pretty sure this is...!" he heard Scorpius say excitedly, but then his friend suddenly yelped.

Scorpius had frozen dead in his tracks and it took Albus only a moment to realise why: In front of him, a big snake had lifted its head from the ground so it was level with Scorpius's belly and was hissing, bearing its fangs dangerously at Scorpius.

"N-no!" Albus screamed as he somehow realised that the snake was close to attacking. "D-don't! Please, he doesn't mean any harm! Scorpius is my friend! He would never hurt anyone!"

It took some time, but eventually, the snake directed its attention to Albus and tilted its head, almost as if it was looking at him. In the meantime, Neville and his other classmates had arrived as well, and Neville was pushing his way through to the crowd to get to Albus and Scorpius.

"Common now, make way! What's happening? Scorpius, why did you – "

Neville stopped immediately as he saw the snake, which, probably frightened again, lifted its head in his direction.

"Please!" Albus tried to distract it again, "I swear, we're only here to look for herbs and plants. We won't hurt you," he stressed, even though he knew this was stupid as the snake couldn't understand him. But at least he seemed to be able to attract its attention and maybe Scorpius could back away like that...

Suddenly a thought struck him while looking into the snake's eyes, and even though Albus didn't really know where it came from, it made a lot of sense: Of course the snake would feel threatened if its lair was nearby and its eggs with its children were in danger to be stomped over by a horde of students on a field trip.

"It's frightened," Albus explained to the others without thinking, "Its family lives here. It only wants to be left alone. We should all leave."

"We will go now," he added towards the snake and held out a hand for Scorpius, who was still closest to the animal.

"Come, Scorpius, we'll go," he said and tried to sound calm and confident, "Just back away slowly. Don't turn your back on it..."

His friend did as he was told and, very carefully, he backed off until he reached Albus and entwined their fingers. Scorpius's hand was sweaty and Albus could tell that his friend was at least as upset as the snake.

"See? He's my friend. I don't want him to be hurt either. We'll just go. We won't bother you again, I promise. We didn't know that this was your home," he said one last time and gestured towards his fellow classmates to back away as well.

Neville seemed to understand and made the others step back a few feet and at that, the snake tilted its head one last time and it almost looked as if it nodded before it slithered away.

When it had gone, Albus let out a relieved sigh and clutched Scorpius's hand tightly.

"You okay?" he wanted to know, but somehow, his friend only looked at him with big eyes.

Now that he was looking around, Albus realised that _everyone_ was mustering him with big eyes – even Neville.

"Yeah, I think we were really wrong when we accused _him_ of being Voldemort's child...," Karl of all people was finally the one to speak, "We got the wrong one of the two."

"What are you talking about?" Albus couldn't help but snap, because he couldn't understand why Karl would insult him in a situation like this. Shouldn't he simply be glad that nothing had happened and keep his stupid mouth shut for once?

"Albus...," he then heard Scorpius say very softly and when he looked at his best friend, he still looked a bit frightened, but also... _fascinated_?

"Why have you never told me? I didn't know you could..."

"I could what?" Albus replied, totally confused. "Merlin, what's up with all of you? What have I never told you?"

"You've never told me you could talk to snakes," Scorpius replied, "I didn't know you were a Parselmouth!"

Albus needed two seconds to grasp the meaning of what his friend had said, then it hit him and he felt like someone had kicked him in the guts.

"Okay, why don't we all go over there and maybe we'll find some nettles," Neville shooed the students away, "Go back to work!"

He stayed behind and bent down to throw Albus and Scorpius a concerned look. "Are you two alright? Did something happen before I arrived?"

"No, I'm fine," Scorpius replied and Albus nodded as well.

"Nothing happened," he mumbled although he knew of course that this wasn't true. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what this actually meant, but he _knew_ that he was in trouble. However, he wasn't too keen on talking to Neville about it at the moment. He needed some time to think this through on his own first.

Which was not so easy, because there were whispers everywhere, even after class, even at dinner, where he could practically feel the Headmistress's eyes boring into his head, and all this agitated him so much that he was stupid enough to push Scorpius away when he wanted to comfort him.

"No. I'm tired," he mumbled and turned away on his bed, hoping the blond would leave him alone. He _needed_ to be alone.

"Okay...," Scorpius replied hesitantly, "But, I'm... I'm right here, Albus," he said softly. "You can always talk to me."

Yeah, he guessed Scorpius would _love_ it if he hissed at him...

*

Next morning, Albus thought it had only been a bad dream, because Scorpius was smiling at him and didn't mention the incident at all, so Albus could feel almost carefree when they went up for breakfast together.

But as soon as they had sat down at their table, Albus could feel all eyes on him. He already thought about making a sarcastic remark about him obviously having a bad hair day when suddenly Rose appeared at their table with madly glinting eyes.

"Albus!" she greeted him, "Oh. My. God. Now everything makes sense!"

Albus looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Great. Congratulations," he couldn't help but snort, "I love to witness other people's success. Makes me really happy to hear that _everything_ makes sense to you, Rose."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid, Al," she said in a voice that she always used when she wanted to tell people that she thought they _were_ stupid. "I mean the fact that you are a Parselmouth of course! Don't you see? _That's_ why you've been put into Slytherin. Everyone was shocked and confused, but now it makes sense!" she rambled on, "Haven't you payed attention in class recently? I've thought it all through, it's so simple: When the part of Voldemort residing in your dad's body was killed in the Forbidden Forest, one tiny piece of him must have survived in one of his sperm cells, and that was the sperm that impregnated – "

She stopped there, because Albus had pushed a bowl with still hot, soft-boiled eggs into her face. At the sound of the cracking noises and her following scream, he realised that it must have hurt and fled the Great Hall.

Albus knew that he should be in his Charms class in thirty minutes, but he couldn't care less. He was so confused and angry and... and _scared_ that he barely saw where he was going. He just wanted to get away from that bloody castle, from the others, from... f-from everything.

He only realised that he was crying when he had reached the lake and flopped down on the soft grass. It wasn't as if what Rose had just told him _hadn't_ occurred to him. He knew that Voldemort had been a Parselmouth and he knew that his dad had been one because Voldemort used to be a part of him – so of course it had occurred to him that somehow, a part of the most evil wizard of all time could, potentially, also be a part of him. And even though he shouldn't believe that because he _knew_ that Voldemort was dead and that the piece that had resided in his dad was killed a long time ago, he couldn't help but worry about it. Because Rose was right – he _had been_ sorted into Slytherin and sometimes, he _did_ feel so... so moody and _angry_ , so... s-so maybe he _was_ evil. Not because he wanted to be, but because it... it was a part of him.

"Oh, thank Merlin, there you are," someone sighed with relief.

Albus turned around and quickly tried to wipe away his tears when he saw that it was Neville.

"I'm n-not going to class today," he told him quickly, "I'll w-work in the library, I d-don't care, but if you've come to fetch m-me, I'm not going..."

Neville didn't listen and sat down next to him. "I'm here to look if you're alright, not to drag you anywhere. I haven't heard what Rose said, but I suppose you're not? Alright, I mean."

"S-she's so meddlesome and mean!" Albus spat, "I don't get why she always has to stick her nose in other people's business! And then she thinks that she's so _clever_ as if... as if I hadn't thought about _that_ as well..."

He swallowed and tried really hard not to cry, but it was no use. He was so upset when he thought about what had happened in the Great Hall... and probably everyone around them had heard her. Also Scorpius. Merlin, what the blond must think about him now! Surely, he didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore... and who could blame him? Nobody liked to cuddle up with a freak who could talk to snakes and was probably related to Voldemort...!

"What _did_ she say?" Neville asked with his calm voice that didn't have its soothing effect on him that it normally had. "That would help. I mean, for me to know that first."

Albus swallowed. "The only l-logical thing one could think. After what happened yesterday...," he replied, "That I'm – that... That part of Voldemort that resided in Dad didn't die completely and that it's now in _me_. S-so that I'm evil. From the inside."

"You're not evil, Albus," Neville replied within a second and with much determination. "There's no such thing like evil that _is_ inside someone. There are only people who _choose_ to be evil, and you don't look like one of them to me."

"But my dad – "

"I hate it," Neville interrupted him. "I’m totally against that belief that it defines you who your parents are or what they've done. Years of my life I've been pushed around, because my family thought I have to be like my father. Bullshit! You are who you want to be, Albus. And if you don't know who that is yet, that's alright too. But don't you ever think you _have_ to be evil or you _have_ to be a hero."

Albus hesitated for a moment, but then he swallowed and, between quiet sobs, asked: "D-do you really think s-so?"

Neville smiled his crooked smile and bumped him in the side with his elbow. "Eh! Are you implying you can tell your godson bullshit and get away with it? Of course I mean it!"

Albus had just brushed his tears away with a handkerchief Neville had given him, and had a tiny smile on his lips, when there was suddenly a loud "Albus!" ringing across the meadow – a voice he would have instantly recognised everywhere, anytime.

Scorpius was running across the grass, his arms wide spread. "Albus!"

Albus shrank back and couldn't really look his friend in the eye. He didn't know what to say or to do, so he simply dug his fingers in his arm and hoped that somehow something would happen that would convince Scorpius to stay friends with him.

So he was caught totally off guard when the blond threw himself at him for a hug, and they both tumbled over into the grass.

"Albus! Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry!" Scorpius tried to get up and hug him at the same time, which was quite difficult, so they kind of just stayed where they were. "I'm so happy that I've found you! There was such a hassle and I just _had_ to tell Rose first that I thought it was really, really rude how she talked to you and you're her cousin! Ah, yes, but then you were gone and you weren't in our dorm, so I thought I'd better go to the owlery, and then I saw you down here – Shit, I'm skipping class, am I not? I'm skipping class for you, Albus, so don't ever run away on your own again when you're hurt, okay? You know how much I worry about you..."

He buried his head in the crook of Albus's neck and squeezed him heartily.

Albus returned the hug shakily and couldn't quite believe his own ears.

"I'm... I'm s-sorry...," he then choked and couldn't hold back his tears, "I'm s-sorry that I... that I ran away and that I d-didn't talk to you yesterday, I was j-just so confused. A-and hurt and... a-and worried you wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore..."

Scorpius looked at him, shocked. "But why in Merlin's name would I be such an utter nutter and not want to be friends with you anymore?"

"B-because I'm... b-because of what happened yesterday and because of what Rose said...," Albus whispered, "I m-mean she... she _could_ be right..."

"And so what?" Scorpius blinked at him. "I don't care how it happened that you are who you are, I only know I love you just like that. Ooh, and Sweet Salazar!" he added so enthusiastically that Albus was shocked for a second. "I absolutely loved it when you talked to that snake! It sounded soo sophisticated and playful at the same time!"

Albus couldn't quite believe him. "Y-you – what? You... you weren't... _scared_? Or freaked out?"

Scorpius laughed. He actually almost giggled. "Of you? I was scared of the snake at first, but how could I be scared of you, you idiot!" He pinched his side. "Neville, are you scared of Albus?"

"Of course not," Neville replied honestly and gently stroked his godson's back. "You're my godson and, just like Scorpius, I love you the way you are. I could never be scared of you, Albus."

That made Albus smile somehow, and before he noticed, he was resting his head on Scorpius's shoulder, who was stroking his hair.

That...that was new. But it was okay. It was...good, actually.

"Oh. Okay, then... Sorry for...I was just..."

"It's okay," Neville assured him with a nod. "But maybe you two should go back to class now?"

"Oh Merlin!" Scorpius whined and when Albus looked up, his cheeks were really red. "We _have_ to go and tell Professor Flitwick that we're sorry."

"We will," Albus promised, who would have rather stayed with Scorpius at the lake, but he knew how important school was to his friend. "I'll tell him that it was because of me. Don't worry, okay?"

"Noo, you don't have to. I didn't want to – we'll manage, okay?" he said and took his hands. "But...are we okay again?" he added and looked at Albus with big eyes that spoke of how much he cared about him.

"Yes...," he breathed and clutched Scorpius's hands tightly. "We're okay. _I'm_ okay as long as...as long as I'm with you."

"Yay!" Scorpius made and hugged him again, shortly this time. "Then we're _very_ good, because I'm not gonna leave your side anytime soon, my friend." He winked.

And Albus smiled. And everything was fine.

Until the letter from his dad arrived next morning, telling him that they had to meet on Saturday.

*

Albus groaned and hid his face in his hands as he passed the letter to Scorpius.

"Well, I'm... I'm sure your dad just wants to explain to you that he'll support you, no matter what," the blond tried to be optimistic, "And hey, if your meeting doesn't take all day, you can still come to visit my family, right? It's a Hogsmeade weekend and grandma and grandpa wanted to visit for dinner."

Albus sighed. "I'd rather go have dinner with them. Really."

Scorpius gently stroked his arms. "I'm sure it'll be alright. And then you'll simply join us later, okay?"

"Yeah, alright," Albus sighed and tried to keep the dinner in mind when he waited for his dad to arrive on Saturday.

He came through the Floo at the Headmistress's office where Albus sat on one of the comfortable seats, dressed in his casual clothes.

"Hello, Dad," he greeted him while his father still rubbed the dust off his hair and shoulders, trying to make a good first impression.

"Hello, Albus," he then greeted his son and even though he smiled at him, Albus could tell that he was worried and upset. He came over to him and after a moment of hesitation, he sat down on the armchair next to his. "So, how... um, how are you today?"

"Okay," Albus replied, crossing his legs on the chair. "I would be better if I could go to Hogsmeade with Scorpius."

"Yes, I'm sorry to keep you here on a Hogsmeade weekend, but... given the circumstances, I thought we should better talk."

"I think so too," Albus replied, then tapped his chin and furrowed his brow. "What exactly are the circumstances again?"

His father sighed slightly. "Albus, please, I'm just here because I'm concerned. And because I want to know what actually happened. Did you really talk to a snake on Neville's field trip?"

Albus looked at his dad and focused very hard like he had done yesterday morning when no one else had been in the showers. Then he opened his mouth and hissed at him. In his head he was saying: "What do you think, huh?", but what he heard was: "Hassss ssseethahh ajasssh?"

He could see from the look of horror on his dad's face that he had, apparently, not wanted to believe that it was true until he heard it himself.

"Dad, you have to speak to me," Albus felt the need to remind him, "I'm a Parselmouth, obviously, but not a Legilimens."

Dad sighed. "Albus, I'm sure you understand that I was very concerned when I heard that you could talk to snakes. I still am. You remember that I was once able to do that too, don't you?"

It took Albus a moment, but then he got the implications of what his dad tried to tell him. "Seriously?" he asked, but why else had he thought his dad wanted to meet him? Surely not to explain to him that he'll support him, no matter what...

"Albus, this is not a laughing matter. I want you to take this seriously and be honest with me. How should I help you otherwise? So, have... have you felt odd lately? Apart from the snake incident I mean."

"Yes," Albus growled, "I've laughed and felt happy. Odd enough for me, isn't it?"

"Albus..."

"What do you want to hear, Dad? That I feel angry? That I want to hurt people? Yes, I do, you know? I do sometimes, but it's nice to know that, for the first time in my life, I seem to make sense to you all!"

He was screaming now, and apparently, he had also jumped to his feet.

"Albus, please. Sit down again. I don't mean any harm, I just – I want to help you. It's okay to feel like that sometimes, but... you know maybe there's something we can do about it. Maybe it doesn't _have_ to be like that. You know, I thought about it and... I think it would be a good idea to go to St Mungo's and have a few checks ma– "

The rest of his dreadful words were drowned in a loud pang and a few thuds with which the crystal ball sitting on McGonagall's desk exploded and all the books fell to the floor.

Albus was fuming. He couldn't believe it. His dad, of all people, could make him _so_ angry... so angry he wanted to shove him and –

"You know what, _dad_?" he spat and made his way towards the door because on top of everything, he didn't want to start crying in front of his father because it bloody hurt to see he was actually _scared_ of him. "I don't need a Healer to figure out that I'd simply like to be _me_ around my family. But now that you're all convinced that I'm more related to Voldemort than to anybody else, we can just drop the act, can't we? We don't have to pretend to be a family anymore. I'll j-just... go."

"A-Albus, no – that wasn't what I – "

He slammed the door and ran down the stone steps, nearly bumping into McGonagall in the corridor.

"Sorry about your b-ball and the books," he mumbled as he pushed past her, because he just wanted to get away. Get away from all this. As far as he could.

He was so confused and hurt that he simply left the castle as quickly as he could and before he knew it, he found himself on his way to Hogsmeade. He just wanted to be close to the one person he knew would never judge him for anything.

He knew that Scorpius and his family were having dinner at the Three Broomsticks, and even though he wasn't sure if it was okay to disturb the family meeting, he decided to be egoistic, because he needed his friend so much right now.

*

The place was pretty crowded, but it took Albus only a moment to spot the four silver-blond heads.

Insecurely, he stumbled towards the table and before he could figure out how he should introduce himself, Scorpius had spotted him too and jumped up to greet him. "Albus! You've made it!"

"Y-yeah, I – sorry, to bother you, b-but..." He wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve and tried to pull himself together.

"You are not bothering us at all," Scorpius, who of course realised that he had been crying, assured him. "I've _invited_ you to join us. And I'm so glad you could make it. Come on, why don't you sit down?" He gently directed him to the free chair next to his own. "See? We've even saved you a seat."

"I, er...thank you," he tried to smile at least a bit while he nodded in everyone's direction. "Hello."

Neville and Draco greeted him with a kind smile and also Lucius and Narcissa said hello.

"So...," Scorpius began carefully.

Albus couldn't help but snort and rub his face. "You couldn't have been more wrong, Scorpius. My dad was of course supporting Rose's theory a-and... and actually suggested I'd be properly checked at St Mungo's to – I don't know." He shrugged. "Probably lock me away if I'm really Voldemort's son."

"What? But that's _horrible_ ," Scorpius replied immediately, "How could he even suggest that?"

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that," Neville replied carefully, but apparently decided to let it go when he noticed the look on Albus's face.

Lucius, on the other hand, snorted. "And wherever does that ludicrous belief that _you're_ the son of the Dark Lord come from? Surely your father must remember killing him and _every_ horcrux he had left?"

"Father, please...," Draco wanted to intervene, but Albus didn't actually care anymore who knew about the story.

"I can talk to snakes," he replied to Lucius as if this explained everything.

But, to his surprise, Lucius only raised his eyebrows. "You're a _Parselmouth_?" he replied and, much like Scorpius had done when he had first heard him speak to a snake, he looked fascinated.

"Dear boy, if someone was discovered to be a Parselmouth in our family, they were actually given _special honours_. This is nothing to be ashamed of."

"And even though it's a rare gift, it's not only the Dark Lord's family who was able to speak it," Narcissa offered and smiled kindly at Albus, "As far as I know, Parselmouths have occurred in all Pureblood families. There were at least a number of speakers in the Black family. And since your mother is a Pureblood, it is not unlikely that you inherited the skill from her side of the family."

Lucius snorted, but nevertheless, he nodded in agreement. "There were also various speakers in the Malfoy family. It is a rare gift, but it is not uncommon among Pureblood families."

"Oh, really?" Neville asked excitedly, for which Albus thanked him, because he could only gape. "I didn't know that. Gran never talked about it, but then again I just think, with Voldemort being one... Parselmouths had fallen a bit in her grace."

"Unfortunate coincidence," Lucius said, "To say that all Parselmouths are Dark wizards or witches is to say all snakes are evil, when in fact, they are very intelligent, elegant and mostly peaceful creatures. Not that...that, er, Nagini of course," he added in Draco's direction, who only winced with a crooked smile.

"Yeah. I liked the snake in the grass," Scorpius said, "And you said it only wanted to protect its family when it scared me."

"The snake in the grass?" Narcissa replied and couldn't help but sound concerned, "You were attacked by a snake, sweetheart?"

"Er, yes," Scorpius obviously hadn't realised that his family would worry, even though Draco already knew the story from the way he reacted. "But Albus was there to protect me a-and... that's where we found out that he can speak to the snake."

"Ah, well, then it was lucky that you were together," Narcissa replied and sounded genuinely relieved.

"Oh, we're almost always together," Scorpius smiled at Albus, his eyes so happy, and held out his pinky for him.

Albus couldn't help but return the smile and hook his finger into Scorpius's. He couldn't believe how... how happy and _relieved_ he felt all of a sudden. So neither Scorpius nor his family thought he was a freak, they... they actually _admired_ him for the fact that he could talk to snakes. Lucius and Narcissa had even called it a gift...

And Scorpius, he still wanted to come to his bed and cuddle up with him, as he realised this evening, and that made him happy too.


	5. From Dad to Dad

Draco had actually been looking forward to spending a comfortable evening with Neville. He had had a long day of hard work in the shop and just wanted to relax in his boyfriend's arms. Unfortunately, when they had just decided to have a long and hot bath, the Headmistress's Patronus had arrived in their flat to tell Neville that there was a severe problem in Greenhouse four that needed to be fixed.

Draco had sighed inwardly, but he knew that there was nothing to be done, so he decided to retreat to the living room to read a bit in the hopes that it wouldn't take Neville so long and they could have their well-deserved bath after all.

His hopes were crushed when the doorbell rang and he opened their flat to the one and only Harry Potter.

"Oh, um... hi?" he greeted him as eloquently as ever and Draco simply _had_ to raise his eyebrows, "Sorry to disturb you so late in the evening, but I was wondering whether I could have a word with Neville."

Draco hesitated. Of course he was tempted to simply tell Potter to leave, because the one he was looking for was not at home, but he just looked incredibly _awful._ More awful of course than was usually the case, with bags under the eyes and his glasses askew.

"Neville's not here at the moment and I don't know when he will come back," he finally said and had decided to add: "But you may come in if you really can't help it." And: "You look awful," just because he could.

Potter sighed, but then he stepped into their flat. "I probably do," he replied and shrugged out of his cloak. "Thanks," he added as Draco took it from him.

"Can I offer you something to drink? Tea? Or do you need something stronger?" he asked while he led Potter into the living room.

"I guess I wouldn't say no to a glass of Firewhisky?" he replied and flopped down on the sofa.

"Of course," Draco tried hard to hold back a snort and went to work.

With a glass of Firewhisky he came back and sat down next to Potter on the sofa. He still had his tea.

He was just thinking about how he should even _start_ the conversation when Potter already began to pour out his heart unceremoniously.

"I've really messed up this time, I got into such a big fight with Ginny... thanks," he added and took a big sip of his Firewhisky.

"Ah," Draco made, not sure actually, what to say. "You must know, I'm not a really good marriage counsellor. Maybe you _want_ to wait until Neville arrives."

"Exactly," Potter replied but continued talking anyway, "We – I mean of course we have rows now and then, but this time it was _really_ bad. We haven’t stopped fighting for the last _three_ days and I don't know what to do..."

Draco had to refrain hard from sighing. "Well...," he tried to sound neutral, "Have you any idea what could be the reason for this ongoing fight? Has your wife mentioned anything?"

Potter nodded and ruffled his hair. "It's Albus. I mean _he's_ not the problem, but ever since we discovered he was a Parselmouth, we've been fighting over how to deal with it."

"Oh," Draco understood now. He wanted to tell Potter that maybe _he_ was the problem, but could bite back that reply. "Albus. Yes, I've heard about that too. But what do you mean: how to deal with it?" He decided to play dumb and not tell him about the conversation with Albus – not yet anyway.

Potter looked at him as if he wanted to say: “But isn't that obvious?”

"But isn't that obvious?" – Oh, maybe he was becoming a Legilimens after all.

"No?"

"Riddle's been a part of me once. I could speak Parseltongue because of him. Why has my son this...this ability now? That can't be coincidence, Draco."

Draco had to bite back a laugh so badly... But he decided to let Potter on a bit... "Oh. I see. You're under the impression that Albus's talent derives from you, specifically, the part of Voldemort that had been inside of you once?"

"Exactly!"

Draco furrowed his brow. "Don't you think there are other explanations? The part of Voldemort had been long dead before you had Albus."

Potter desperately ruffled his hair. "I know, and don't you think I want nothing more than this not to be the truth, but it – it all – He's cursing fellow students now, have you heard about that? He's top of his age at duelling. Rose says other students are scared of him, Draco, _scared_! Rose's scared of him now. He crushed a bowl of soft-boiled eggs in her face, she's still recovering from it! That's not like – I mean, James does a few mean things to others too, but it's always meant in a funny way a-and..."

Draco took a deep breath and tried to respond as calmly as possible. "Has it ever occurred to you that you might be jumping to conclusions? As far as I see it, there is no reasonable clue _whatsoever_ that a part of Voldemort has survived in you and thus in Albus. You wouldn't have been able to finish him off if you hadn't killed that part a long time ago. As for the other things you have mentioned... well, I can only judge the situation from what Scorpius and Neville have told me, but as I see it, he only threw those eggs at his cousin because she had hurt him before."

"But she only _talked_ to him, she didn't..."

"People sometimes forget that words can be used as weapons too. And I don't believe that Albus is particularly good at defending himself through this medium..." Much like his father, he wanted to add, but bit back the remark.

"Wait, what has he told you?" Potter interrupted him, "Didn't she just tell him about her theory? Did she insult him too?"

Draco raised one eyebrow. "I believe telling someone you think it's totally logic from their behaviour that they are Voldemort's son is pretty insulting itself, isn't it?"

Potter opened his mouth, but this time Draco interrupted him – not a habit he supported normally, but this was really ridiculous.

"And I don't want to imagine how one must feel if your own father tells you he supports that theory too. It's a less complicated way to tell someone you don't accept him as your son like he is, what do you think?"

Potter gasped for air, but on second thought, he seemed to consider his words. "I don't – that's not what I wanted him to think! I'm just worried and I... I want to help him!"

Draco tapped his fingers together. "I understand your motives," he tried to make clear, "I only think, frankly, that your methods are misplaced here. I've noticed it myself: Albus is complicated to read, he's not like an open book like Scorpius or like other children. That's why you have to communicate all the more and make clear that you've got a real interest in him and that you see him as your equal. I think that's very important, because he's very mature for his age."

Potter furrowed his brow and Draco knew immediately that he went into defensive mode. "Since when do you know so much about my son, Malfoy?"

Draco snorted. "You do remember the first two weeks of the summer holidays where Albus visited us nearly every day?"

"Yeah, he did, but I thought he visited Scorpius.", Potter mumbled and took another swing of whisky so that his glass was empty.

Draco cleared his throat. "Well...," he began and leaned over to pour Potter another glass to placate him for what he was going to tell him. "The other point you've mentioned about Albus was that you find it unusual for him to be the best in duelling. I've watched him while he was here to practise for school with Scorpius, and yes, he's a mess at Charms and especially Transfiguration when it comes to precise and delicate magic like repairing a broken teacup. But that doesn't mean he can't be quite good at other things, does it?"

"You've seen him duelling?" Potter asked suspiciously.

Draco cleared his throat again. "I... maybe I should have told you beforehand," he said carefully, "But Albus approached me at the beginning of the holidays to ask for some help in this matter."

"W-what?" Potter nearly spilled his Firewhisky.

Draco went on emphatically, ignoring the accusing look. "He wanted to learn duelling to defend Scorpius and himself from their bullies – _not_ to conquer the wizarding world. I complied and taught him the basic rules. We stuck mostly to protecting charms, however," he felt the need to add, "to actually give Albus the possibility to stand up for Scorpius and himself _without_ having to curse someone..."

Potter was speechless. For a few seconds at least. His face changed, but Draco couldn't quite read it, he only knew he didn't look as offended or angry as he had imagined him to be.

"So how... He's really good at it?"

Draco nodded with a smile. "Excellent even. You know, Albus has a lot of energy inside of him. He needs to let off some steam from time to time, but that's perfectly normal for his age – maybe Scorpius is more of an exception there. We do remember how that feels, don't we, Potter?" he added with a smirk to which Potter responded with a crooked grin. "And since he doesn't play Quidditch, he needs another outlet. You don't have to be a Dark wizard to let that be duelling."

Potter nodded. Then his smile faltered. And finally, Draco was able to read his expression. He looked hurt.

"But why... why didn't he come to me for help?"

Draco hesitated. "I don't think I know enough about your relationship with your son to be the judge of that. But I could imagine that he was afraid of... being judged," he answered carefully.

He could see Harry swallow. "And... and I did just that, didn't I?"

Draco hesitated. "Well... in a way," he admitted finally, "But I suppose you didn't mean any harm by..." He hadn't finished his sentence when Potter was already burying his face in his hands.

"I just... I j-just want to be there for him. All my life, I just wanted a family, I wanted to be a good father because I n-never had anybody to... to t-turn to and now... n-now Albus is just as alone a-as I've always been and... H-how do _you_ do it?" He suddenly looked at Draco again, his eyes filled with tears. "I've seen you with Scorpius and you're just... you're the _perfect_ dad. I can't even remember the last time I hugged Albus and Scorpius _always_ wants to be close to you..."

Draco was so much taken aback by Potter's sudden outburst that he panicked a bit and actually took his hand to pat it gently.

"I think it's... It helped a lot not to expect of him to turn out to be like me," he tried to explain softly. "Which is easy to say if you're me. I can understand that you're a bit more confused if someone doesn't want to be like Harry Potter – no sarcasm here for once."

Potter actually snorted at that, very disgracefully making snot coming out of his nose. "You sound like Albus."

"Oh, and there you go," Draco tried to cling to that positive insight and fetched him a handkerchief. "You've learned how to deal with my sarcasm over the years, Potter, I'm very optimistic you'll learn how to deal with your son's too. And just as I grew up without many hugs, Albus doesn't seem like the touchy type either. I've never seen him being physically close to someone that wasn't Scorpius. I know, for someone who had to grow up without such intimacy, it might seem incomprehensible how one might want to spend time on his own rather than with his buzzing, big family. But I'm sure, if you're at the point where you _can_ understand that, Albus will listen to you and he'll finally understand how important family and hugs are for you."

Potter was quiet for a moment then he shook his head and a small smile formed on his lips. "Yeah. You're probably right. I'll... I'll try to do that in the future." He pressed Draco's hand before letting go – as if they were actually _friends_.

Draco couldn't help but snort, but when Potter looked at him, the man raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"I can't believe you've grown to be so sensitive and understanding," he said and actually grinned at Draco. "I'm glad you're with Neville," he then added sincerely, "He deserves someone like you."

"Oh. Well. I'm glad I'm with Neville too. Even though that means I have to babysit his friends," Draco replied.

Potter actually laughed heartily at that. "Yeah... I owe you one for that," he then said. "I really mean it. I'm glad you talked to me. From dad to dad. That helped a lot."

Draco cringed, but tried not to show it. "Speaking of fathers," he said instead, when Potter was already getting up, also to circumvent a hug. "My father was present when Albus and Scorpius reported their encounter with the snake, and he mentioned something you might not know, but which is essential in this matter, as I see it."

Potter looked at him with big eyes. "What?"

"He told Albus that, had he been a Malfoy, he would be given special honours for being a Parselmouth. And this has nothing to do with his former loyalty to Voldemort," he added quickly, "No, it's because Parselmouths occur in every Pureblood family and the Malfoys, as a Slytherin family through and through, have always been exceptionally proud if they could claim one to be a part of their family."

"Ah...," Potter made and as he didn't sound very convinced, Draco felt the need to add: "But it's not only the Malfoys – Mother said that there were a number of speakers in the Black family as well. She was also the one to suggest that Albus inherited the skill from your wife's side of the family."

That seemed to hit home. Potter blinked at him in confusion. "But... Ginny has never mentioned anything..."

"I can imagine that it wasn't exactly something to brag about anymore for some families since Voldemort was known for that skill."

"Oh, I... Yeah, that could be... I-I guess I'll just have to ask her..."

Draco nodded. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea. So... I suppose I'll give your regards to Neville?" he added when Potter made his way towards the door.

"Oh. Yeah, please. And, er... Thank you, again, okay? I really mean it."

"Understood," Draco nodded.

Potter waved at him to compensate the hug he was not ready to give him, which looked absolutely ridiculous, and Draco sighed heavily when he had finally shut the door behind him.

He decided to head back towards the sofa and he had barely finished his tea when he heard Neville at the front door.

"Draco? I'm home, love," he heard him call and Draco couldn't help but smile at that.

"I'm in the living room," he answered and welcomed his boyfriend with a hug and kiss once he had joined him on the sofa.

"Oh – drowning your loneliness in Firewhisky?" he asked with a grin and pointed towards the empty glass.

Draco snorted. "I wish. No, we had a guest while you were gone, darling. Potter honoured me with his presence."

"Harry?" Neville was surprised. "What did he want?"

Draco sighed. "Actually, he wanted to talk to you about Albus. I would have told him to come back another time, but seeing as he looked so miserable, I offered him a glass of Firewhisky and my humble advice. Apparently, he got into a fight with his wife over the whole Parselmouth business..."

Neville sighed and rubbed his face, spreading a bit of soil there. "That's Harry... I hope you've told him that his theory is bullshit and what your mother's said?"

"I did," Draco nodded, "And I think he will at least consider it."

"Hm," Neville made.

Draco grinned and patted his knee. "You look worn out too. Was it so bad, my hero? I thought McGonagall only wanted to see you in your pyjamas."

Neville snorted and lay back against the back of the sofa with a heavy sigh. "That stupid Devil's Snare is terrible when it's in its mating season..."

"Oh Merlin, do I even want to know about that?"

Neville gave him a lazy grin. "Probably not."

"Oh no!" Draco was up on his feet in a second, trying to pull Neville off the sofa. "You're not going to fall asleep on me! I had a _horrible_ time comforting your friend and I deserve a proper Thank You from you for that, my dear. And with proper, I _mean_ proper."

"Shit, Draco, but I'm sore..."

"I don't accept a No," Draco was stern, pushing Neville down the hall. "I deserve this. And your sore muscles will come to life again in my steamy Strengthening Bath. Trade Mark."

"Oh, is that new?"

"Exactly, and you can be my guinea pig."

Neville chuckled. "I’ve always wanted to be your guinea pig."

After having taken care of Neville's dirty face and hands and ridding him of his cloths, the bathtub was ready and Draco poured a cup of his potion into the hot water. It turned a shade of fierce orange and started to bubble.

"Not that I don't trust you, but... Can anything bad happen?" Neville asked.

Draco let his fingers trace over his boyfriend's sturdy, tanned back and kissed him between the shoulder blades. "I don't think so. Common. In you go, darling."

So Neville did, and as soon as he sank into the orange, bubbling water, he let out a delighted moan that made Draco's insides tingle.

"Oh, fuck, this is good..."

Draco bit his lip while he took in the sight of Neville's muscles flexing underneath the water. Very slowly, he began to undress himself. Doing so, he turned his back to Neville, but deliberately stayed in the spot where his boyfriend had the best view.

When he turned around and carefully climbed into the tub as well, he didn't even make it all the way in before Neville grabbed him to coil his arms around him and pull him close for a passionate kiss.

"Mm-mh! Careful," Draco panted as the hug felt almost painfully tight. Almost. "Don't crush me."

"I won't," Neville promised, who went on to sucking his throat. "Just gonna give you my proper thank you."

Draco moaned with pleasure and tilted his head back as far as he could. "You better do."


	6. Strike!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely enjoyed writing that chapter! XD  
> I hope you will do too reading it!

There were a number of things Albus liked to do on a Saturday afternoon: Lying around in bed, playing a game with Scorpius or visiting Draco's shop in Hogsmeade, even if that included getting out of the comfortable dormitory. Going bowling with his dad was definitely _not_ on the list.

He wouldn't have come at all if Scorpius hadn't pestered him the whole week with how important it was to go.

"If you don't want to do it for your dad, then do it for me. I'd be heartbroken if you broke with him completely!"

Albus sighed. He really would do _everything_ for Scorpius, but in this, he thought, he was asking a bit too much of him...

Oh, and there his father was, to Albus's surprise with the old grey-blue Mercedes.

"Hi, Dad," Albus greeted him and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "What's with the car?"

"Hi Albus," his dad greeted him with a smile. "I always thought you like going by car. And since it's not that far... but if you like Apparating better, that's fine with me as well..."

Albus made a choking sound. "No, thank you. Haven't got the stomach for that today..."

"Alright, then hop in," Dad smiled and got onto the driver's seat. "How was your week?" he then asked after he had started the car.

Albus hesitated. He had thought he would just imagine what Scorpius would do and try to mimic that, but he really couldn't bring himself to smile and ramble on about his week in detail right now.

"No snake incidents if that's what you want to know," he said instead.

"I didn't mean that," his father replied carefully, "I suppose there aren't that many snakes in the castle you could run into." He smiled crookedly. "I was genuinely interested. Do you have a lot of work to do at the moment? How's Scorpius?"

"He's well," Albus started with answering the question he could answer best. "But he's gonna miss me today. Tomorrow's a big game for him. Against Ravenclaw. They've got two fierce Beaters this year..." He tapped his window. "Not that I know anything about it, of course. Not that Scorpius knows anything about it," he added and had to chuckle when he thought about the enthusiastic Quidditch speeches his friend sometimes gave him. "He just pretends to. And he's got a lot of fun playing. I guess that counts most."

Dad laughed gently. "Yes, I guess it does. And Scorpius is an extraordinary player. He's really good at flying, so I'm sure he'll do a great job tomorrow."

"Yeah. Although their captain is thinking about replacing him, I've got the impression."

"What? Why that?"

"Dunno. I think they want someone more forceful, who's taking more risks. I like it that he plays very thoughtfully. I couldn't take it if he hurt himself just because of that stupid game..."

"I agree," Harry said, "Quidditch can be very dangerous if you're not careful. And I actually think you have a higher chance of catching the Snitch if you keep your cool. I don't see how a player who's more forceful could achieve better results. There's a reason why Scorpius is the youngest Hogwarts player of the century."

Albus needed a moment to process the fact that he and his dad were on the same page for once... And it concerned Quidditch. That was almost embarrassing...

He turned to look at him. "Are you jealous of him?"

Harry looked at his son in surprise. "What? No, why would I be? I'm happy that Scorpius is so successful! I just wanted to stress that I couldn't believe it if they took him off the team, that's all."

"No," Albus couldn't help but laugh and roll his eyes. "I mean because I'd rather be with him than with you."

"Ah...," his father made and laughed sheepishly. "No, of course not. I'm glad that Scorpius and you are such good friends and I guess at your age, it's normal that you'd rather spend time with your best friend than with your dad. And that's totally fine. But I'm really glad you agreed to meet me today. I think it... it would be nice to do some things together from time to time because... well, I miss you a lot. You're only at home during the holidays... but that doesn't mean that we have to hang out all the time. Once in a while would already be wonderful."

"Yeah," Albus mumbled, because he didn't want to promise anything, but he was surprised how honest his dad sounded. Maybe he needed him more than Albus needed him.

"Why are we going bowling anyway?"

"I haven't been in quite some time and I thought you'd like that as well," his dad replied, "Remember that one birthday party of um... Lewis? He used to live next door and you didn't really like those parties, but his 7th birthday was okay because you all went bowling and you were really good at it. So, I thought it might be fun to give it a try again. And there we already are..."

They were turning into a car park in front of a shabby, but funky building.

 _Bowling Boogie_ , the flashing letters told everyone, even those who didn't want to know, how the centre was called.

"Oh," Albus only made, because he hardly remembered that Lewis and his birthday parties himself. You could almost call it thoughtful of his dad to suggest this as their activity for today. Unless... He didn't want to think about it, because Scorpius had told him not to always start out from the worst, but it was difficult.

"Let's go!" his dad was already jumping ahead. "What do you want to drink and eat?"

"Er, I... Do I get a coke? And chips?"

Dad grinned. "Of course you do if you don't tell Mum."

"Done," Albus promised, so they both had a big coke and an equally big bag of chips they put down on their table after a few bites to start playing.

"You're still very good," his dad grinned after a while.

Albus grinned crookedly. "And you're shit. Looks like you're gonna lose, Dad."

Dad laughed, but Albus couldn't join him. The thought was still nagging him.

"Or are you doing this on purpose? Because you think I desperately need something I'm good at?"

"What?" his father replied and sounded as if he really couldn't believe he was actually asking that. "Why would I do that? There are lots of things you're good at. Potions, for example, and lately, as I've heard, also Duelling. And you know that I'm a sore loser, so I generally wouldn't let you win on purpose." He gave his best attempt at a crooked grin. "And also...," he then added a bit more quietly, "I think I... I sometimes suck at being a dad when we just meet and talk. So I thought that if we both have something to do, we might get along better."

"Ah," Albus nodded. He could only agree. "That's wise of you. Oh, no sarcasm here for once," he added quickly.

That somehow made his dad first stare at him and then laugh his arse off.

"What? It wasn't that funny. Common, Dad, people are already staring."

"No, it's just...," his dad said, but then shook his head. "Sorry, I'll try to pull myself together. So why haven't you told me that you're so good at Duelling?"

Albus shrugged and took the next bowling ball. "I don't know," he said while taking his position. He held the pose for two seconds of concentration, then he took a swing and sent the ball rolling along the alley. When it crashed into the pins it gave him a feeling of satisfaction.

"Didn't want to worry you that something is 'odd' with your son and you come up with the great idea to take him to St Mungo's."

Harry sighed. "I'm so sorry, Albus. I really am," he then said and sounded genuinely sorry as he put down his own bowling ball to look at Albus properly. "I only realised how that must have sounded after I had told you about it. I – I was just really worried when I first heard that you are a Parselmouth. Because I... well, I had to live with a part of Riddle in myself for a long time and it... it was horrible for me. I felt lonely and isolated and... and so _angry_ all the time. I would never want you to feel like that. So I tried to think of a way to help you. But I should have thought about it properly before I came to you. I just – I guess I panicked. It didn't even occur to me that you had probably inherited the skill from your mum's side of the family. I wasn't aware that there had always been speakers in all Pureblood families. I'm really sorry, Albus."

Albus hesitated. But then he decided that his father deserved the truth as well. "I... I'd have to lie if I told you I hadn't thought the same. I didn't know about that either, it...it was Mr and Mrs Malfoy who told me about it first. So I...yeah, I can understand where you got that idea from, but I just – I'd never thought you... you'd believe Rose more than me," he ended and couldn't help but furrow his brow at the thought of her and her words...

"I don't," Dad replied, "I was just – as I've just said, I panicked. And I didn't realise that Rose hurt you so badly with her words. What she's said is unacceptable. She can't go around shouting stuff like that, it's rude and totally uncalled for. I've already talked to Ron and Hermione about it. And now that I've thought about it properly, I also think it's a very, very unlikely theory. I killed Riddle, also the part of him that had lived inside me. Otherwise, I could have never finished him off."

Albus blinked at his dad and couldn't quite process what those words did with him.

"Wow," he mumbled finally, a small smile on his lips while his eyes were very interested in his dad's shoes. "That...that was..." _That's what I would've needed last week_ , he thought. "It...it feels good to hear that from you," he said instead, really quietly.

"I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you so straight away, Albus," his dad replied, "It's just... the whole Riddle thing still haunts me sometimes. And I was so desperate to protect you that I jumped to conclusions. There's nothing wrong with you," he stressed and gently squeezed Albus's shoulder. "And nobody likes you less for being a Parselmouth. That would be stupid – snakes are not generally _evil_ and neither are witches or wizards who can talk to them. It's a rare ability that simply shows that you have strong magical powers. And that's something I've always known and been proud of."

Albus realised too late that he had been longing to hear that from his dad for a long time and now was blushing with pride himself.

"Daad...," he replied to cover that up and rolled his eyes, "Salazar, you're so cheesy sometimes..."

"I guess I am," Harry laughed and gently squeezed his shoulder one more time, "I'm sorry, but I can't help it. Can I tell you one more thing that might be too cheesy for your ears?"

Albus winced on purpose. "Okay. If you can't help it. Bring it on."

Dad smiled at him. "I love you. So much, Albus. And I'm sorry if I haven't shown or told you often enough lately. I guess I... I realised that it made you uncomfortable and so I simply stopped after a while. But that was stupid of me. Of course I accept that you're not a very touchy-feely person. But _I_ am, and I hope you can accept that as well."

Albus cursed himself for not having seen _that_ come. Now it hit him unprepared and he could feel all those stupid, confusing emotions battling in his chest.

"You're just..." Before he could stop himself, he was lurching forward and hugged his dad. "You're an idiot," he mumbled, his face pressed hard into his dad's pullover. "B-but I love you too. Sometimes."

His dad smiled and hugged him close. "I'm okay with that," he mumbled and gently stroked Albus's head, "And I promise to work on being less of an idiot."

"Yeah," Albus chuckled. "You definitely should do that."


	7. Not Nearly Enough

"Do you want to stay for tea, Neville?"

Narcissa only meant well, and the biscuits looked absolutely delicious, but Neville was unpleasantly sweaty from his work with the untamed, now pretty tamed Midsummer Anemones of Malfoy Manor on this hot summer day.

And on top of that, he had to be home pretty soon.

"Ah, thank you, but I'd better head home. Draco's leaving later."

"Ah, yes!" Narcissa replied, "How could I forget? Give him my regards, will you?"

"Yeah, of course."

"And thank you again. I really wouldn't have called if it hadn't been an emergency."

Neville chuckled. "It's okay, I like a few challenges now and then. Say hello to Lucius. See you, yeah?"

"See you soon, Neville," Narcissa replied and Neville waved at her before he Apparated back home.

When he arrived in their flat, Draco had nearly finished packing.

"So far so good?" Neville asked as he went into the bedroom to get some new clothes.

Draco sighed. "Oh. Yes. Except that I already regret applying for this advanced vocational training."

"But you were so excited when you first heard about it," Neville replied as he stripped off his clothes, "I think it will be really good, darling. And it's only five days. You'll be back home in no time."

"Merlin," Draco only sighed again, this time with another nuance to the sound, as he came over to fondle Neville's pecs. "I'll have to do without _this_ for five whole days?"

Neville smiled and bent down to kiss Draco on the lips. "We'll mange, yeah? I'm sure you'd regret it if you didn't go."

"Well. Probably," Draco admitted. "The Potions branch is really further developed in Paris; I think I will learn a lot."

"I'm sure you will," Neville agreed and gave his boyfriend another kiss. "I'll have a quick shower, okay?" he then said, "I'm all sweaty from working in the garden..."

Draco snorted. "I can see _that_. Did my parents throw you inappropriate glances again?" he wanted to know and followed him into the bathroom.

Neville shook his head laughing. "Not that I noticed. Your mother is very polite and subtle. Your father wasn't around. Ah, I should give you her regards," he then remembered as he started the shower and stepped out of his pants as well.

Draco, apparently, wasn't listening. "Fuck, do you think there's time for a quickie under the shower? Yes, I think there is," he answered his own question and already started to get rid of his clothes as well.

For a quickie it got very sensual, with Draco kissing and massaging him everywhere until he got on his knees in front of him and started to suck him off.

Neville groaned and gently stroked Draco's wet hair. Merlin, he would be lying if he pretended that five days without Draco weren’t terribly long...

"M-mh... Draco... l-love...," Neville panted and gently stopped Draco's eager sucking after a while, "I'd.... I'd like to fuck you. Against the tiles...," he breathed and looked down longingly at his boyfriend.

"Mmhgh – fuck, yes," Draco gasped, let go of him and got up for a passionate kiss, before he turned around, his delicious butt rubbing against his desperate cock, and braced himself against the tiles with his arms.

"I love you so much...," Neville whispered as he gently worked his way inside Draco with two fingers, "I'll think about you night and day, my love..." He groaned as Draco let out a helpless moan at that, "I'll miss you... I'll miss you so much..."

"G-gah, N-neville... please...," Draco panted and Neville gently kissed his neck before he let go of him with his fingers and pressed in with his cock instead.

"N-ngh... I... I c-can't even imagine anymore what it'll be like without y-you...," Neville breathed and gave Draco some time after he had pushed in completely. "You're so...w-wonderful, I just want to be with you a-all the time... to... hold you and kiss you and... f-fuck you..."

"P-please...," Draco mewled and Neville couldn't hold back any longer himself.

"Y-yes, my love...," he whispered and started to fuck him properly now, pushing in hard, but pulling out slowly.

That's what always got Draco worked up most and fastest until he started to clench and tremble around him, and Neville had to bite Draco's neck.

"N-no b-bite – no biting today. Neville! T-they will see..."

"T-they'll see that... that you're mine, love...," Neville moaned and bit and licked Draco's neck, " _M-mine_..." He wrapped his hand around Draco's cock and started to jerk him off with hard, determined strokes.

"Y-yours… f-fuck...," Draco babbled and met his strokes eagerly, "Y-yours... only yours, N-nev…a-ah...!"

His inner walls twitched so wonderfully while he came that Neville didn't need anything more to just come right on the spot too, moaning Draco's name against his neck and pressing him flat against the tiles as he buried himself as deep as possible inside of him.

"Merlin, I'll miss you...," Neville mumbled after he had pulled out of Draco and now held him tightly in his arms, "I'll miss you so much..."

"M-mh..." Draco only replied in agreement and buried his head in the crook of Neville's neck, holding him close.

It took them a while, but finally they tore themselves away from the warm water and got dressed again.

"Have you got everything?" Neville wanted to know after Draco had closed his suitcase and levitated it into the living room.

"I guess so," Draco nodded. "And I've left you the address of the British embassy and the hotel I'll be staying in, right?"

"Yes," Neville nodded, "It's on my desk." He held out his arms for Draco and drew him into a tight hug. "I'm sure you'll have a great time, love."

"We'll see," Draco replied. "Let me know in case there's any sort of problem, yes?"

"I will, but I guess we'll manage those few days," he grinned before bending down for a last kiss goodbye.

*

Since Draco wasn't at home, Neville decided to sleep in his quarters in the castle and even though the first night felt weird without him, he was glad that his boyfriend had gone to Paris as he seemed to get a lot out of the training.

His two letters said so, at least, and all would have been surely fine if Albus hadn't _Bombarda-ed_ his door on the third night and screamed for help.

"Neville! Neville, Scorpius! You have to fetch Draco! He has to take him to St Mungo's! Madam Pomfrey says i-it's urgent!"

"W-what? What happened?!" Neville replied and quickly pulled over a sweater and a pair of jeans. "Is he still in the hospital wing?"

"Yeah, but she said he has to go to St Mungo's, 'cause she's not a proper Healer a-and they'd know what t-to...," Albus rambled on and Neville could see how he trembled, probably not because he was only wearing a t-shirt and his pyjama bottoms. "F-fuck, I'd kill myself if he dies..."

"He won't die!" Neville replied fiercely even though he felt extremely worried himself. If Madam Pomfrey said that a student had to go to St. Mungo's, it must be serious...

He followed Albus to the hospital wing where they were met by the matron, who indeed looked worried.

"Ah, Professor Longbottom," she greeted him, "Good that you're here. Scorpius needs to go to the hospital. From the state he's in, I suspect an infection with dragon pox."

"What?" Neville rushed past her and bent over the bed Scorpius was lying in. His pale skin had a greenish tinge and was plastered with bumps. With a fever glazed look in his eyes he looked up at him.

"Don't touch him, it's contagious," Madam Pomfrey warned him.

Neville couldn’t care less.

"Where's Mr Malfoy?” she then wanted to know. “I thought you're going to fetch him. The boy has to be taken to St Mungo's immediately. I'll make a call to Malfoy Manor."

"Draco's currently not here, he's in Paris – it'll take too long to get him here right now." Neville suddenly felt very sick and his heart started beating faster. Merlin, Scorpius looked _really, really_ bad...

"I'll go with him to St Mungo's," he then said, "We can't lose time right now, I'll call Draco once Scorpius is in safe hands..."

Madam Pomfrey hesitated for a moment, but then she seemed to agree. "But I'll call the Malfoys. Strictly speaking, I'm not allowed to let him get transferred without a parent or guardian giving their agreement, and I think you won't get far at St Mungo's either. But go, go! I'll send them after you."

Neville nodded. "Thank you," he muttered and then he quickly turned around to Albus. "It'll be fine," he said and tried to sound convincing. "I'll go with Scorpius and once he's in St Mungo's, he'll soon be better. I'll write to you as soon as possible, okay?"

"O...okay," Albus said, sounding so confused Neville would have loved to take him with him, but the risk that he got infected as well was just too high.

"You stay here for a quick check if you've got infected too, Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey put a hand on his shoulder, and so Neville decided to leave it at that.

He took Scorpius's limp body in his arms and stepped into Madam Pomfrey's Floo to rush to St Mungo's.

He couldn't imagine a time in his life when he had felt so scared and worried. Even killing that blasted snake seemed like a minor hassle in comparison to the sick boy in his arms. Good Godric, he knew that there was a treatment against dragon pox and that only few people died from it nowadays, but Scorpius looked so pale and ill that Neville couldn't supress the sickness and panic in his stomach. Next to Draco, Scorpius was the most important person in his life, he – he _was_ his son if not biologically, then through the endless love he felt for him and Draco. And if he only imagined that something could happen to him...

It was hard giving him out of his arms and see him put down onto the hospital bed by strangers.

"Calm down, Mr Longbottom. He's in safe hands now. Thank you for bringing him here," the Healer sensed his panic and tried to calm him, "We'll take over from here."

"B-but I... I can't just leave him," Neville stammered, "What do you mean, you'll take over? I'll come with you, he'll need someone, I..." He knew that he probably wasn't making much sense, but he simply couldn't leave Scorpius alone right now.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Healer gently, but consequently blocked his way. "We're taking him to the intensive care unit, to a separated isolation ward where permission is very restricted. If you're not close family, I can't let you in."

"But I'm...!" With paralysing shock, Neville watched how they rolled Scorpius away from him, and deep down he knew that he couldn't do anything about it.

"Sorry, Mr Longbottom. But we'd be very glad if you could help us call his parents or guardian – we also need someone authorised to fill in some papers."

"That would be me."

Neville turned around quickly and saw how Lucius strode towards the main desk. "Scorpius is my grandson. My son is currently in France, but he will try to come back as quickly as possible. My wife has already informed him," he added and also looked briefly at Neville, "Where are the papers I need to fill in?"

"Ah, Mr Malfoy!" The Healer was glad to hand Lucius the papers and a quill. "You can go look after your grandson when we've got that back. He's already being treated, I'm sure."

"Thank you," Lucius answered briskly and filled in the papers before he hurried after one of the Healers to where Scorpius was at the moment.

Neville watched them leave in a state of complete stupor. He couldn't believe that he wasn't allowed to be with Scorpius in a situation in which he needed him so much, even though he took care of him every day, even though he was as good as a father to him, he... Neville swallowed and as the realisation hit him, it was hard to fight back the tears anymore. At least officially, he was... he was _nothing_ to Scorpius. He couldn't fill in a bunch of papers and he wasn't allowed to accompany him when he so desperately needed him.

Before he knew it, he was wandering through the hospital to find the isolation ward to at least be as close as possible to Scorpius. He pressed a hand to his mouth and tried to stop the tears before he approached a witch, so that there was a chance she would understand him at all.

"Can you – c-can you tell me where I find the isolation ward? I'm, er... a bit lost."

Fortunately, the witch showed him in the right direction and even though he wasn't allowed to go in, Neville decided that he would at least stay in front of the door. He kept pacing up and down the corridor and only sank down on one of the chairs after what seemed like hours. He couldn't be sure how much time had already passed, he only knew that he so desperately wanted to be there for Scorpius that it nearly killed him.

"Neville!"

It was a small relief to see Draco coming towards him, still in his travel robes and with his shrunk suitcase in one hand.

"Neville, where is he? W-what – oh, Merlin, are you crying? No... no..."

"They w-wouldn't let me in...," Neville replied shakily, "H-he's in the intensive care unit a-and I – I d-don't know, you better go look for him, your father's w-with him at the moment..."

"What?" Draco put his suitcase down and gave him a hug. "Why wouldn't they let you in?"

"Because I'm... w-well, not close family. Officially," Neville replied and swallowed hard as he returned the hug. "You better go in and look after him. I'll wait right here, yeah?"

"Er, yes. Yes," Draco nodded, brushed his cheek with his hand and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before he left.

Neville watched him vanishing behind that door and realised he didn't feel any less devastated. The small relief he had felt was washed away by Draco's own paleness, because he _knew_ his boyfriend needed him right now. Neville was ready to be strong for them both, but he wasn't allowed to do so. Instead, the two people he loved most had to fend for themselves, and that broke his heart.

He could feel new hot tears rolling down his cheeks and slumped down again on his seat.

He didn't even notice that Lucius had come out of the room until he spoke to him. "It doesn't look that bad," he said and threw him a look Neville couldn't classify. "I'll go home now. You should do the same."

Neville grit his teeth. "I'll stay here. Thank you," he managed to reply with the strongest voice he could muster right now.

Lucius hesitated for a moment, but then he simply nodded. "Very well. Good evening," he replied and left Neville to himself again.

Another hour or so passed until Draco came into the hall again. He looked quite okay, but shocked when he saw him.

"Oh, darling! Why do you still cry? Neville..." He pulled him close and rubbed his back, then handed him the handkerchief he desperately needed.

"Thanks...," Neville replied and tried to calm down a bit, "How's Scorpius?"

Draco hugged him again and gave him a small smile. "They're optimistic he's going to make it. It was essential that you brought him here so quickly, so they could provide him with the right medication at a very early state of the infection. Thank you."

"Well, I... I didn't do much," Neville replied quietly, "It was Albus who fetched me because he had noticed that Scorpius wasn't feeling well. Then I brought him to the hospital, b-but I... I couldn't..." He swallowed and buried his face in his hand. "Merlin, I was so scared and worried, Draco, I still am..."

"I know, but he's really doing fine," Draco assured him, "He was even awake for a second. After asking if you were alright, he told me to write to Albus or he would worry his heart out, he said."

Neville couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. "Yes, we'll do that. How are you?" he then wanted to know and took Draco's hands. "You looked so pale and worried beforehand. I'm sorry, I... I couldn't be there for you, my love."

"It's not your fault," Draco smiled and leaned in to rest his head on Neville's shoulder. "I'm okay as long as my son is well, and he's getting there. I think I'll just have another glance at him in a few minutes. Then, the Healers told us to go home and get some rest."

"Mhm..." Neville nodded and gently stroked Draco's back. "We'll do that. And then we'll come back tomorrow morning. I'll take off work to be with you."

Draco gave him an inquiring look. "I'd say you don't have to, but I guess you'll do it anyway, right?"

"Right," Neville nodded determinedly, "McGonagall will understand. And I couldn't focus on any of my classes anyway."

"Well, then..." Draco let go of him. "I'll have a quick look, and then let's go home, alright?"

"Alright," Neville nodded and in the meantime, he fetched parchment and quill to write the letters to Albus and McGonagall.

*

Even though he could fall asleep in Draco's arms eventually, Neville didn't sleep well and much that night. The last image of Scorpius he had in his mind was still the one where he looked like a ghost and was taken away from him by strangers.

So, he still was pretty knackered when their alarm already woke them again to get ready to go back to St Mungo's.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were told that Scorpius had been moved from the intensive care unit to a regular room in the morning. They followed the kind Healer to the second floor and Neville felt a wave of relief wash over him as he was finally allowed to visit Scorpius as well.

The blond boy was sitting up in his bed as they entered – he still looked paler than usual, but the green tinge was gone, and a smile formed on his lips as soon he saw them. "Daddy! Neville!"

"Oh, G- " Neville's voice faltered, and while Draco rushed towards his son to hug him and ask him how he was, Neville felt tears rolling down his cheeks again – which was odd, because he wasn't one to cry, but he couldn't fight those emotions right now.

"I'm much better, Daddy," he heard Scorpius reply, but as he turned to look towards Neville, his eyes widened in shock. "N-neville! Why are you crying?" he asked and extended a hand towards him.

Neville just shook his head, because he didn't know how to explain to his boy that he truly felt like he was like a son to him, but that that, apparently, wasn't enough.

So instead, he just came over to hug Scorpius, to bury his nose in his hair that smelled just like home, and to kiss his forehead.

"I'm okay. I'm okay, Scorpius. I w-was just so worried about you, my angel..."

Scorpius cuddled up to Neville and gave him a gentle smile. "I'm sorry I scared you that much. I thought I just caught a cold and then it got worse overnight... but I'm already feeling much better."

"You look much better," Neville smiled and gently brushed back the silver-blond hair.

That's when he caught Draco's eyes, who still had his arms wrapped around Scorpius from the back, and once again in his life, Neville felt like the slowest, dumbest person ever when a thought hit him that should have hit him months ago.

*

It was the third day of the Whitsun holidays and Scorpius's birthday. They were getting ready to go to Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour and afterwards, would maybe indulge in some shopping in Diagon Alley. Draco was currently fixing his hair and Albus hadn't arrived yet, so Neville sat down next to a more than usually fidgety Scorpius on the sofa.

"Hey, you look like you can't wait to go, hm?", he laughed softly.

"Yes, I'm really excited," Scorpius smiled, "And it's such a sunny day – I can't wait to have some ice cream!"

Neville chuckled and put an arm across the back rest behind Scorpius. "Can I talk to you about something before we go?"

Scorpius smiled up at him. "Of course, what is it?"

"Er, maybe... maybe you remember us sitting here on that sofa and talking after we, er...came back from visiting my parents for the first time?"

"Uh... I think so?" Scorpius screwed up his face in just the cutest way because he was thinking so hard.

"You... you said you loved the idea of being family with me. Do you still feel the same?"

"Yes of course, Neville!" It didn't take Scorpius even a moment's hesitation to answer that question. "Of course I still feel the same. Don't you?" he asked hesitantly and bit his lip.

"Of course I do!" Neville was surprised that his angel even thought that could have changed. "Come here," he said and held out his arms, so Scorpius could cuddle up to him and he could hold him tight. "I truly feel the same about it, even stronger so that you are my son. But you know... sometimes that feeling isn't enough. At St Mungo's, they didn't let me into your room because I'm officially not related to you."

"Yeah. That was stupid," Scorpius agreed and looked really sad at the thought of it. "I still remember how... how upset you were because of that. How upset _I_ was."

"Oh no, I didn't want you to be upset. I'm sorry, angel...," Neville whispered, "But I think there's something we could do about it."

Scorpius looked up at him with a curious smile. "Really? What is it?" he wanted to know.

Neville listened carefully if Draco was about to come, but he still seemed to be busy. Then he leaned down and spoke as quietly as if it was a secret. Which it was, partly. "I could adopt you," he said, "Even if that meant I'd have to marry your daddy first."

It took Scorpius a moment to fully understand his words, or at least so it seemed – but then he squealed excitedly and threw his hands around Neville's neck to hug him tightly. "Yes, Neville, _yes_!" he exclaimed and beamed up at him, "That's – that's such a wonderful idea! I'd _love_ that. And I'm sure Daddy would love that as well. But you have to propose in a really, really romantic way! It needs to be _perfect_...!"

Neville laughed gently and felt just _very_ relieved. "Perfect?" he replied. "Then, I think, you're gonna have to help me, okay?"

"Yes," Scorpius replied, still beaming up at him, "Of course I will help you!"

"Good," Neville nodded, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Yay! This is so awesome, Neville! I can't wait for it – I can't wait to see Daddy's face!"

"Why is that, I may ask?"

"Oh, um..." Neville was so surprised to see Draco that he didn't know how to respond for a moment, so Scorpius did.

"Neville just promised me the big sundae with the firecrackers," he exclaimed excitedly, and Neville realised that there was a reason after all why Scorpius had been put in Slytherin.

"Oh. You did?" Draco asked, and sounded rightfully surprised. "I thought you hated them last time, because they were making quite a mess..."

"Well..." Neville threw Scorpius a reprimanding look, but the boy only giggled. " _Hate_ is a strong word..."

"And it's my _birthday_ ," Scorpius added and cuddled up to Neville, extending one hand for his father, "Come on Daddy, the sundae always looks so pretty!"

Draco chuckled, then he succumbed to his son's charms as well and gave him a hug. "You are not as innocent as you look, young man."

Scorpius only laughed – and jumped off the sofa with a high-pitched cry of joy when the doorbell rang. "Albus!"

Neville saw how he hugged his best friend tightly before Albus had the chance to congratulate him. "Happy birthday, Scorpius," he said and gave the blond an honest smile he seemed to have reserved just for him.

"Thank you – Oh no, you've brought a present! I've told you I don't need a present if you come. You're already all I could wish for."

Neville saw how his godson blushed a bit at that. "Of course I got you a present," he simply replied and handed the beautifully wrapped parcel to Scorpius.

"Thank you," the blond answered again, this time biting his lip at the end and pressing the parcel to his chest. "I'll open it when we're back, okay?"

"Okay," Albus breathed and Neville loved to see him so happy.

"Hi there, Albus," he greeted his godson once they had come over to the living room where he was still sitting on the sofa with Draco.

"Hey Neville. Hello Mr Malfoy," Albus greeted politely and Draco smiled at him.

"Hello Albus, how nice to see you." He stood to shake hands with Albus, of course. "But I'm afraid you'll have to call me Draco if you want to go on holiday with us in summer."

"Oh that's – I'd l-love to...," Albus replied shyly, "Thanks again for the offer... Draco. I still have to ask my parents for permission to go, though..."

Draco nodded. "You do that. I'm sure I could also meet with your father if he has questions or worries."

"Oh, that's very nice of you," Albus replied, "I... I'll have a look." A small smile formed on his lips.

"We can tell you more about the plans for summer when I have my fireworks sundae. Let's go!"

"What? You get a fireworks sundae? How did you do _that_?" Albus was clearly impressed. "I never get one since James had one for his tenth birthday and ruined the whole shop."

"Well," Scorpius blinked at him with fluttering eyelashes. "Look at me. Who could say no to that angelic face?" He hooked his arm into Albus's and dragged him to the door.

Neville only lifted both eyebrows. Draco snorted.

At Florean Fortescue's, Neville had to buy Scorpius that fireworks sundae, and while they all enjoyed their ice cream and the sunny weather, they told Albus about their planned holiday in Crema.

"This is the address of the small villa we've rented," Draco gave Albus a paper where he had noted down all the important details. "There is another bed in Scorpius's room, so you'd only have to book a Floo at the Ministry if your family has decided that you can go."

"Thank you," Albus replied and Neville couldn't recall the last time he had seen him so happy. "I hope they'll let me go with you. I'd... I'd love to go on holiday with you all."

"We'd like to have you, t – " too, Neville wanted to assure his godson, when Scorpius's firecrackers suddenly started and everything was a beautiful mess.

*

At the end of the day, Albus stayed overnight, and Neville was neither surprised nor worried when in the morning, the second bedding hadn't been used again.

Draco only gave a small sigh, but then smiled too.

Neville volunteered to Apparate Albus home, and when he suggested Scorpius could come with them, the sudden excitement on the blond's face told Neville that he had understood his plan.

"So," the blond asked excitedly after they had dropped off Albus, "Do you already have something in mind? For the proposal?"

"Er, well... I have to find a pretty ring first. And then I'd... I'm afraid I'm not that good with words, so I'd like to hide the ring somewhere, as a big surprise, you know? And it would be nice if you could be there too, when he finds it."

"I'd love that," Scorpius smiled, "And I think that's a very good plan. So, it should be hidden somewhere special, right?"

"Yes. Of course. Not in a jar," Neville chuckled. "But I have no idea where this could be. I'd also like it to be somewhere outside, so that we could have a romantic picnic before or after... Not making it much easier..." He sighed.

Scorpius bit his lip in thought. "What... what about... ooh, yes, this is awesome! Yes!"

"What?" Neville asked excitedly.

Scorpius grinned widely and came closer to proudly tell him what he had come up with.


	8. Came, Sought and Caught

It was one of those days when Draco thought he must have done something right in his life.

The sun was shining, the air was warm, his wonderful son was excitedly jumping ahead with their brooms and his equally wonderful boyfriend was holding his hand and carrying their picnic basket.

They had decided to enjoy the warm weather by playing a bit of Quidditch and having a nice lunch outside. They had prepared sandwiches and lemon bars and Draco was convinced that they would have a really nice day.

Which turned out to be true as he was resting with his head on Neville's thigh an hour later, the taste of delicious tea and lemon bars still on his tongue, and Scorpius's head on his belly, so he could play with his hair.

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"Digestion over? Can we play now?"

Draco laughed softly. "Yes, if you'd like. So, it will be only us and a Snitch?"

"Yes! With thanks to Madam Hooch," Scorpius grinned and was quick to get up. "You will watch us, won't you?" he asked Neville when he handed Draco his broom.

"Of course I will," Neville promised with a loving smile, "Have fun, yeah?"

Scorpius giggled. "Oh yes, we will. Can you release the Snitch when we're on our brooms?"

Neville's smile grew even wider at that. "Of course, I'll do that," he promised.

So he and Scorpius mounted their brooms and kicked off in the air.

Draco loved the feeling of flying. Especially since he could do it without anyone expecting anything from him anymore.

His son soared past him with an excited laugh, and Draco hoped he would never reach that point where Quidditch and mounting a broom would be anything than pure fun for him.

They could see the castle from up here, the lake and even their flat at Hogsmeade.

And Neville, down there, waving at them and – oh, Merlin, throwing him a kiss.

Draco couldn't help but laugh and Neville might have even called that sound a _giggle_ – but he just couldn't help it, he felt so happy and... _complete_ with Neville and Scorpius by his side.

"Don't daydream, Daddy!" Scorpius yelled at him with a laugh, drawing his attention back to the game, "We're _playing_ , remember?"

"Alright, alright," he sighed, but couldn't help to throw back a kiss at Neville before focussing on the sky.

The weather was good to catch the Snitch because the sun would be reflected by it and you could –

Suddenly, Scorpius dived down, so Draco quickly turned his broom around and followed him into a steep dive, only to rip it back up inches over the ground.

His son was rolling on his broom, giggling his head off. "You _always_ fall for that!"

"Don't be smart on me," Draco replied, but he made it sound very kind and loving, "Better keep your eyes open, little dragon..."

"Oh, you too," Scorpius sang and off he went again.

Draco kept moving too, flying high and low and searching the skies and the ground, always exchanging lovely banter with his son when they passed each other or his son thought he needed to perform another trick, and then –

At the top of that tree! Draco was already rushing towards it before he was sure, but the closer he came the surer he was: the Snitch – and Scorpius had seen it too.

His broom was faster, but Draco was a few seconds ahead – and then the Snitch started up, higher into the air and Draco had to squint against the sun, but –

He couldn't help his triumphant laugh when he felt his hand closing around it.

"You got it?" Scorpius asked, who stopped his broom effortlessly.

"Yes, my son, where was your head?"

Scorpius grinned. "Where is your breath?"

Draco gently bumped into him and ruffled his hair. "We'll talk again when you're my age."

His son giggled. "Oh, look!" he said then. "Neville wants to give the winner a kiss. Let's go back down to him."

Draco rolled his eyes, but followed his son down to the grass where they landed in front of Neville, who was giving them both a hug – and Draco, actually, a kiss.

"Oh, wait," Scorpius suddenly took his elbow. "I think there's something..."

A bit confused, Draco let his son touch the Snitch he was still holding between his fingers and… Draco couldn't believe his eyes: it opened.

"Look, what you've caught there, Daddy..."

Draco held his breath as he saw the beautifully crafted ring inside the Snitch. It was silver, set with a precious green stone and several small diamonds around it. Draco swallowed and couldn't believe what was going on. Surely, this... this meant that...

His head spun as Neville smiled and got onto one knee in front of him.

"Draco, darling," he said in his gentle voice, "I'm so happy to be with you. And with Scorpius. Every day I spend with you, you make me feel loved and cared for and simply...complete. I love you and I... I know that you're just it for me. So that's why I wanted to ask you: Do you want to marry me, Draco?"

Draco fought hard against the cliché, but he knew himself too well, so he was sure he could only lose this battle against the tears of joy and emotion that were welling up in his eyes.

"Oh, Neville, I – I..." He nodded enthusiastically and couldn't help but grin with shaking knees. "Yes... oh, darling, _yes_..."

He heard Neville laugh and then he was swiped into his arms and hugged tightly. "I love you so much," he heard him whisper into his ear, "I love you so much, Draco."

"I love you too," Draco murmured, his voice cracking under the emotion, and held Neville tight, until he was gently pushed away a few inches so that Neville, with a sweet, embarrassed: "Oh, er, I forgot...", could put the ring on his finger.

"It's so incredibly beautiful, Neville. Really. I can't – I love you." He leaned in for a tender kiss, wrapping his arms around his neck and feeling the soft pressure of the new band around his finger where he, until now, hadn't realised he had missed one.

"I love you too," Neville replied, returning his kiss lovingly. "I'm so glad you like it..."

They held each other close, only letting go when they could hear a quiet sob escaping Scorpius's lips.

"Oh no – what's up, my angel?" Draco heard Neville ask and held out a hand for his son as well.

"I'm just so – so happy," Scorpius replied and laughed as he was drawn into a tight hug by both of them, "You're so perfect together and... this was so beautiful h-how you f-found the ring, Daddy, a-and how Neville proposed..."

Neville laughed softly, then there was an "Oh!" from him again, but this time, Draco thought, it sounded feigned. But cute nevertheless. "I forgot. There's something else..." He rummaged in the picnic bag and then he was on his knee again, this time in front of Scorpius, a silver bracelet in his hands, with two meeting dragon's heads. "Do you, Scorpius Malfoy, want to be adopted by me and become my son?"

Draco heard Scorpius squeal delightedly and throw himself into Neville's arms. "Yes, _of course_!" He replied and hugged him tightly, "I've already told you so!"

"You've already...? Oh," Draco realised, while Scorpius was eagerly holding out his arm for Neville to fasten the bracelet. "So you've been in on this from the start?"

"Yes, Neville asked me if I wanted to be his son and if I was okay with you two getting married," Scorpius replied with a sweet smile, "And of course I said yes! Oh Neville, this is so _beautiful_ ," he then swooned and had another look at his bracelet again, "Thank you so much!"

"Let me have a look," Draco wanted to see it too, so they put away their brooms and sat down on the blanket to examine their gifts.

"When I get engaged, I want such a beautiful ring too!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Scorpius helped me pick it," Neville added.

"It's wonderful," Draco replied and gently touched the green stone, "Where did you buy it?"

"In London. Remember that day when I took Scorpius to see my parents and you didn't want to come, because we were going to have a tube ride too, since Scorpius had learned about it in Muggle Studies?"

Draco laughed gently. "Yes, I remember." He looked at the ring again and then smiled up at his two loved ones. "Thank you. It's so beautiful. And it... it feels so right to wear it."

"That's important," Neville smiled and gently cupped his hand with his. "I can't wait to wear one too." With the other hand he gently squeezed Scorpius's, and they all smiled fondly at each other.

"Anyone another sandwich or lemon bar?"

"Yees, please!"


	9. We're Family

The holidays were nearly over, but there was still enough time left to tell everyone that Daddy and Neville were getting married – and that he was going to be Neville's son.

Scorpius really liked the idea and somehow, he was glad when Albus reacted positively too when they were all over for tea at the Potters’.

While Neville was – as he had called it – 'dropping the Bombarda' downstairs, he and Albus had gone to Albus's room and, yeah, he had shown him his pretty bracelet and told him: "I'm gonna be Neville's son. He proposed to Daddy and he's going to adopt me."

Albus had smiled at him, complimented him on the bracelet and said that he liked the thought of his Daddy and Neville getting married. "You're one family anyway," he added as an afterthought, "And now it's official. I think that's good."

Scorpius thought that it was good too.

*

The next day, they had their appointment at the Ministry, where his daddy and Neville could register their engagement, and he could be registered as Neville's son.

He put a neat signature on the right line and then handed in his birth certificate so the witch could charm it up to date. Now it read:

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, born to: Astoria Malfoy (née Greengrass) – deceased.

Father: Draco Lucius Malfoy

Adoptive Father: Neville Longbottom

"Pretty," he decided and handed it back to his daddy with a big smile.

They combined their appointment at the Ministry with a visit to Neville's parents. His grandparents.

As always, Scorpius was really excited to see them. He was also excited to go to St Mungo's. Daddy didn't understand, but since his grandparents lived there, it wasn't foremost a place for him where he had to go when he was sick. No, it was quite an interesting place, where a lot of things happened, all with one goal: to heal people, and he really liked that idea.

"Let's draw," he said to his grandparents and was excited what pictures they were going to create today.

Neville's grandmother was there as well and even though she always looked a bit stern, Scorpius could tell that she loved Neville a lot. And she didn't seem to dislike him either. He just hoped that this wouldn't change once Neville had told her that he was officially his son now and that he would marry his daddy.

"Um, so, Gran?" he heard Neville say after a while, "There's... um, something I'd like to tell you."

Scorpius tried not to peek too obviously, but he could see Gran raise one eyebrow and slowly put her tea down. "Yes, I can see," she said then, "It's a decent ring, at least. I would have been ashamed of you otherwise."

Scorpius heard Neville exhale a relieved breath. "Of course it's a decent ring. It's the one Draco deserved. We're planning to get married next summer. I've already adopted Scorpius though – it was about time he became my son officially as well."

"Ah, yes," Gran said and she actually smiled a bit when she looked over to Scorpius. "Amy" – that was one of the Healers – "has told me how upset you were when he was ill and you weren't allowed to be with him. That's a rational decision. Let me congratulate you two," she then said to Daddy and Neville and Scorpius had to grin. "I know I've never been quite affectionate towards you, Draco, but I'd be delighted if you chose to invite me to the wedding anyway."

"Of course you'll be invited," Daddy replied immediately, "It will be a great pleasure to have you with us on this special day. It never crossed our minds to do otherwise."

Gran smiled and nodded, and Scorpius _really_ had to look away quickly, because that smile on her lips reminded him _soo_ much of grandpa Lucius's that he nearly had to giggle.

At the end of the day, his grandparents wanted to gift him their drawings again, and so Scorpius took them with a big smile and a great Thank you and hugged them both.

"We're a real family now, by the way. I mean, officially," he informed them, "I'm looking forward to my next visit."

Grandma patted his hair with a loving smile and for the first time, Scorpius wished that she would speak to him.

On their way back home, he stared at their drawings and asked himself if Neville thought the same all the time.

He cuddled up to him when they were at home and he was glad that Neville held him tightly in his arms. He always felt so safe and comfortable there. He just wished that he could somehow return that feeling – not only to Neville, but to his parents as well. To his grandparents.

"I can imagine being a Healer in the future," he said quietly, his head resting on Neville's shoulder, "Do you think I'd be good enough?"

Neville gave him a bright smile. "You? Definitely."

*

“You aren’t seriously worried, are you?”

Scorpius sighed and threw himself onto Albus’s bed in their dormitory. It was warm, it was the end of term, and it was definitely time for a summer break. Even Scorpius’s nerves said so.

“Of course I’m worried!” he whined. “I’ve never taken a Muggle Studies exam before. Nor an Ancient Runes one. Let alone in Care of Magical Creatures, Albus! I’ve decided I want to be a Healer, and I’ve looked it up: You need damnsy good grades for that!”

“But you’re top of almost all classes,” Albus tried to reassure him, “You’ve _always_ been, Scorpius. You just have to believe in yourself, alright?” He sat down next to his friend and smiled at him. “I know you’ll be amazing this time as well.”

Scorpius sighed again, looking up to see that his best friend was giving him a smile. An Albus-smile that he only got from him.

He had to grin and bite his lip. “You think so? I mean, tomorrow we’ll know, right? Couldn’t they just tell us today?! Oh, Albus…” He threw himself around and hugged Albus’s leg.

Albus laughed and gently patted his back. “I’m afraid they won’t. And I think it won’t do us much good if we stayed in all day worrying. Do you wanna go for a walk around the lake? Or we could check in on the Hippogriffs.”

“Yes, let’s do that!” Scorpius was all in at once. “I’ll miss Leander terribly over the holidays… But Hagrid promised to take good care of him while I’m away. Let me just freshen up and then we can go!”

Leander was happy to see him and tolerated Albus’s presence alright.

“He’s grown tremendously since I helped deliver him, hasn’t he?” Scorpius gushed, patting the baby Hippogriff that was already head to head with him.

“He has,” Albus nodded, “And his feathers look really beautiful.”

“Let’s play a bit with him,” Scorpius suggested and got out the big squashy ball he had made after he’d read up on Muggle pet toys for Muggle Studies. “You wanna play, Leander, hm?”

The Hippogriff spread his wings and made an eager sound, as if he couldn’t wait for Scorpius to throw the ball for him.

“Try to catch it then,” Scorpius giggled and threw the ball over to Albus who caught it with a cute little yelp of panic and threw it back to him at once while Leander stormed his way, abruptly turned, and chased after the ball when Scorpius threw it in another direction.

“Did you see that!” he got all excited when Leander had taken off for a few seconds and caught the ball in mid-air. “He’s learning to fly! Oh, you’re such a brilliant little genius, Leander,” he affectionately stroked the creature’s feathers and kissed his beak before throwing Albus a happy smile.

Albus smiled too and looked really happy, and that made Scorpius grin all the more.

“Yeah, seems like it,” Albus nodded, “Not long and you’ll be able to ride on him.”

“I’d love that,” he replied. “Would you let me ride you, Leander, hm?” he asked the Hippogriff who made a cute sound and started to nuzzle his hair.

“I guess that’s a ‘yes’,” Albus chuckled.

“Thank you,” he whispered when they went to bed that evening, reaching out to squeeze Albus’s hand.

“For what?” his friend asked.

“For your great idea of how to distract me. I’m thinking about what new toy I could get for Leander now and _not_ about the results we’ll get tomorrow.”

Albus smiled happily. “That’s awesome, Scorpius. So, what kind of a toy do you have in mind?”

They talked on and on for almost an hour, also about how their holidays would be. Together.

“And then there’s the pool. Albus, you’ll _love_ it. I hope it’ll be so awesome, you won’t even miss your family that much.”

Albus rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna miss them that badly,” he replied quietly, “I always miss you far worse when we can’t see each other regularly during the holidays.”

That probably shouldn’t make Scorpius this happy, but he just couldn’t help being a selfish git. “That’s wonderful. I mean. It’s not wonderful that you miss me, b-but it – it makes me feel wonderful,” he rambled, squeezing Albus’s hand.

Albus smiled. “I hope you’ll still be happy when I’m coming with you this time. I hope you… won’t be annoyed or anything…”

Scorpius almost giggled. “Never.”

*

The next day, they all got their results at breakfast, and even though Albus had to hold his hand when opening his letter, he could take a breath of relief seconds later when there were _Outstandings_ everywhere and an _Exceeds Expectations_ in DADA.

“Told you,” Albus smiled, “Congratulations, Scorpius, that’s amazing.”

“Thank you,” Scorpius beamed, “And you?” he asked, “Are you satisfied with your results?”

Albus shrugged. “Yeah, it’s alright. Got an Outstanding in Potions, I’ve worked very hard for that and it’s the subject that matters most to me.”

“Ooh, that needs to be celebrated,” he grinned.

“Yeah, about that,” Albus mumbled and rummaged in his bag, only to pull out a neatly wrapped parcel he handed him. “For your first passed Muggle Studies Exam.”

“For me?” Scorpius replied and took the gift, “Oh, Albus, thanks – but you really shouldn’t have…” He carefully opened it and laughed in delight once he had had a look inside. “A _torch_! Albus, that’s amazing! Thank you so much!”

Albus bit his lip. “I’m glad you like it. We… we could go somewhere dark to test it.”

Scorpius grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Yes, let’s do that!”

When he was putting the light on and out and on and out a few minutes later, making Albus get all amused about the joy the simple gesture gave him, Scorpius couldn’t _wait_ to spend two whole weeks with him.


	10. Three Simple Words

" _Neville_. The boys..."

Those were the words. Three simple words, but when Albus heard them for the first time, there, at the pool, it changed something.

Not like a switch.

Gradually.

Albus was the lucky one to spend two weeks of his summer holidays with Scorpius and his family in Italy. He didn't know if the new information that Neville and Draco were going to marry had helped in this matter somehow, but in the end, his parents had permitted him to go with them.

There had only been a minor fight between Draco and his dad about the money, because Draco refused to take any for the rented villa, and his dad insisted on paying for at least _something_.

"Why don't you go outside and duel about it?" his mum had finally suggested, rolling her eyes.

In the end, his dad had let Draco have his way, but he had given a lot of pocket money to him and had told him to invite Scorpius to dinner and ice cream and so on – which he would have done anyway of course.

For their travel, they had to go to the Ministry where there was a bit of a queue in front of the Floo to Italy and Spain – probably because all the other Brits also craved hot weather.

Albus had packed a lot of new stuff for the pool or to chill in the house, because he had grown a bit again since last summer, and, funnily enough, his only worry was that Scorpius liked it. It, as in: his clothes. And him. In them. As in, kind of... should he be more tanned? Should he have more muscles? He didn't even know why Scorpius would care about that, it was just... a hunch. Probably a very stupid one.

"Alright," the wizard handed him back his suitcase, and he was ready to step into the Floo.

*

When they arrived in the Italian embassy, they took the regional Floo to their villa – which was breathtakingly beautiful. Albus looked around the living room, which looked very comfortable with large bookshelves, a big sofa, and a vintage looking record player.

Scorpius next to him was swooning. "Oooh, it's so, so pretty again! Can we go have a look at our room, Daddy? Please?"

"Of course," Draco replied with a smile, "Don't worry about your luggage, I'll Levitate it up in just a moment, okay? Just take your backpacks and have a look."

"Then let's see who's there first," Scorpius chirped and winked at him.

Albus rolled his eyes, but secretly, he liked it when Scorpius winked at him.

And he liked it how happy he was, jumping up the stairs, running down the hall.

"Which one is it? Which one is it? Albus, _no_ , don't!"

He had caught up with the blond and grabbed him from behind, but even though he was giggling hysterically, Scorpius somehow managed to free himself from him and skip further down the hall.

The room he finally burst in right behind Scorpius was just – it was big and bright and comfortable – and there were two beds, bigger than the one he had at home, and they just looked so incredibly soft, he wanted nothing more than to fall onto one together with his friend.

"Ooh, the room's so beautiful!" Scorpius exclaimed and whirled around until he had reached the big windows and opened one of them. "Do you like it too, Albus?"

Albus did. Very much, but he realised that it wasn't just because of the pretty house and the sun.

"I... yeah," he laughed shyly as he sat down his backpack and went over to his friend. "But I guess I'd, er... like it everywhere when I'm with you."

Scorpius smiled beautifully at that and opened his arms to draw his friend into a tight hug. "Me too," he then whispered after he had let go of him again, only their small fingers still hooked together.

"Come see," he then said and opened the balcony door without letting go of him, "I bet the view's amazing."

It was, and Albus couldn't believe how wonderfully Scorpius's hair could shimmer in the sun, making him look like – yeah, like one of those Bulgarian, er... Veelas, wasn't it?

As soon as he noticed that he was staring, Albus quickly looked down from their balcony, where he could see the terrace with a round dining table and a barbecue, and behind that, a pool with four loungers.

Albus gaped. "W-wow, I... I hadn't expected the pool to be so big..."

"Yeah, it's wonderful, isn't it?" Scorpius grinned and let his gaze wander over the pool as well. "Maybe we can go in later on. But I think I'm hungry first. Should we have a look at the kitchen?"

"Er, yeah, I, um...," Albus stammered and didn't know what to say.

Scorpius looked at him, concerned of course. "What's the matter?" he asked him softly, taking both of his hands, and Albus had to grin so hard his cheeks hurt.

"You... you know I'm not good at telling you how I feel, b-but... I'm just so, _so_ happy right now. Thank you that I can be here with you. It's awesome. It's awe _summer_ than awesome."

Scorpius giggled at his joke and then he drew him in for another hug. "I'm really happy too, Albus," he replied earnestly, "I really, _really_ wanted you to come with us this year. So I could share this with you. I liked our holiday in France, but I had constantly wished for you to be with me, to see the things I see... because whenever I experience something, it's not half as good or beautiful if you're not with me."

Albus nodded fiercely. "Yes. Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Let's go have a look at the kitchen."

Since Draco had obviously already brought up their luggage that was waiting for them in front of their door, they decided to change into something casual and better suited for the heat before they went downstairs.

Albus was wearing flip-flops, Bermuda shorts and the tight green T-shirt with the snake that Lily had gotten him after that Parseltongue uproar. He quite liked it. Scorpius was wearing something like a very long, white tank top and shorts so short they nearly vanished underneath it, and when he came out of the bathroom and asked Albus if he was ready too, Albus thought his legs were unnaturally long.

"Er, um, yes. Yes," he had to smile and got up from his bed to gently touch the snowball pendant with the tiny Snitch. "You're wearing it even now..."

"I'm _always_ wearing it," Scorpius replied with a smile as the ball turned red.

Albus returned the smile and let go of the necklace before they headed downstairs.

Neville and Draco were already in the kitchen and had changed their clothes too: Neville was in Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt as well, Draco was wearing long white trousers and, to Albus's surprise, also a T-shirt. He couldn't remember ever having seen Draco in a T-shirt – usually, he wore shirts or something even more chic. Not that his T-shirt wasn't very elegant as well: it was made out of satin and suited his pale skin. Albus had never _consciously_ thought about it, but in that moment, it hit him how much of his good looks Scorpius owed to his father.

Not that he had ever consciously thought about Scorpius's good looks. Well, not often.

"Ah, there you are! And? Is everything alright with your room? Do you have a nice bathroom as well?" Draco wanted to know and affectionately patted Scorpius's neck as a greeting.

"Yes, it's super-duper," Scorpius replied, "We _love_ the room. How's yours?"

"Ace," Neville said, "And bigger than yours, but we're keeping it."

Scorpius laughed and gently elbowed Neville who put an arm around the blond and hugged him to his side.

"So, what's for dinner?" Scorpius, who had melted into the embrace, wanted to know.

"Pizza," Neville replied, "and I have persuaded your dad to do it by hand."

"Oh," Albus chuckled. "Then maybe I can even help." Even if he had been allowed to, he was crap at cooking with magic.

"Yeah, we'll make sure everyone's got something to do."

"Well, then I think I shall supervise this," Draco decided with such a serious face that it was hard for Albus to tell if this was still a joke.

It seemed to be clear for Neville – or he just didn't care, because he let Scorpius go to attack his fiancé. "You think so, yeah? I think otherwise, my love. Come on. Oh, are we ticklish?"

Albus didn't want to stare, but he had never seen Draco laugh so happily and – a-and then, next second, they were kissing...

When he looked away quickly, Scorpius was there, rolling his eyes, but with a bright smile. "Come on, I think it's safe to start with cutting the tomatoes."

In the end, it was a lot of fun to prepare dinner with Scorpius's family. Albus had never enjoyed it much when he had to help at home, but with Scorpius, Draco and Neville it was easy. He didn't feel like he was constantly doing something wrong and he certainly didn't miss James's stupid jokes and rude remarks.

While the pizzas were in the oven, they set the table on the terrace, and while Neville and Draco had some red wine, Scorpius and he got grape juice.

"Ooh, it's so warm," Scorpius huffed and stretched his arms to rub his neck, "I really have to go to the pool after dinner..."

"Yeah, I can't wait either," Neville replied at once, "It looks fantastic..."

Then the pizza was ready and Albus couldn't believe how delicious it was. He didn't eat much normally, but right now he felt a bit ashamed that he could have some more after one pizza.

"There's still a bit of dough left," Neville said thankfully, "Anyone up to share another one?"

After Scorpius and Draco had made clear that they were full, Albus dared to mention that he, "uh, wouldn't say no to that."

"Awesome," Neville said, "Then let's get it ready in the kitchen, yeah?"

*

Later, they all got changed for the pool, and especially after having one and a half pizza, Albus wasn't sure about his swimming trunks anymore. He wasn't really confident with being naked, and wearing only shorts, even if they reached to his knees, kind of felt like being naked to him.

He bit his lip and threw himself a stern look through the bathroom mirror. _Albus Severus, don't be a sissy._

He straightened his back and tried to look casual as he finally left the bathroom.

"Hey, I'm ready, you ca– "

"I'm already finished!"

All the casualness fizzled out when he saw Scorpius jumping from his bed, everything he wore being light-blue speedos and looking ridiculously... good. Nice. More than nice. Kind of... wrong. In a weirdly right way.

Albus couldn't decide at the moment. He only knew that James, who always laughed at boys older than ten who wore speedos, could go fuck himself, quite rightly.

"Oh, I like the colour of your trunks!" his best friend smiled at him, "Green really suits you. Should we go downstairs? I think Daddy won't let me go into the pool before I've used his sunscreen potion..." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, er, yes. Dad mentioned that too. Mustn't forget. It's important," he added while they were on their way. "Especially with your porcelain skin."

Scorpius sighed a bit and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I wish I had Neville's skin. – He has to use sunscreen potion too, but not so much. And he always gets a tan! I never do. I'm just... always very pale..." He sounded a bit unsure when he said those last words.

Albus couldn't leave it like that. "I-I like that," he said and sounded very sure about it.

"You do?" Scorpius asked carefully and when Albus nodded, a smile formed on his lips. "That's good. Then I'm okay with it too."

That set Albus at ease a bit more, and so he felt excited again to jump into the water.

At the pool, Neville and Draco were sitting on their loungers already, and Draco greeted them by handing them the potion.

Scorpius took it without complaining what seemed to surprise Draco.

"You do my back then?" he asked his dad.

"Of course."

"Come here, Albus, I'll do yours," Neville beckoned him over.

"Thanks," Albus replied and after Neville had spread the potion on his back and he had applied a generous amount to the rest of his bare skin, he flopped down on one of the loungers.

"Can I sit next to you?" Scorpius wanted to know with a smile once he was finished too.

"Oh, sure," Albus smiled and blinked against the sun that now hid behind Scorpius's head. "But I've told you not to ask anymore, remember? Just do it. I can be scary, I know, but I'd never bite you."

"I know you wouldn't, you dork," Scorpius replied with his sweet smile as he sat down with him, "And you're not scary at all. Not to me."

Albus snorted and couldn't resist nudging Scorpius's feet with his. "Yeah?" he said. "Are you sure?"

The blond giggled and nudged him back. "Pretty sure."

"And what if I told you about a dream I had the other day." He tried to catch one of Scorpius's feet between his and lowered his voice, because he didn't want Neville and Draco to hear. He didn't even know why he had to think about that now. Maybe because Scorpius looked so fragile when he was naked like that.

"What dream?"

"I dreamed that you'd gone missing, and that we all went searching for you, and when I found you, you were captured and hurt pretty badly a-and I just – I did pretty nasty stuff to that guy before I killed him."

When Albus risked a careful glance from their entangled toes to Scorpius's face, the blond was still smiling at him.

"That's not scary," he replied very quietly, his eyes fixed on his. "I mean, all the rest of it, yes, but not what you did. It… shows how much I mean to you."

A relieved smile slowly formed on Albus's lips that got wider and wider the more Scorpius grinned.

"But I still hope you'll dream of our awesome holiday from now on and not about such creepy stuff," Scorpius replied nevertheless before he rested his head on Albus's shoulder.

"Oh. No," Albus snorted. "I _love_ dreaming creepy stuff. Can't you tell?"

"I'm reading a crime novel right now," Scorpius said, " _That's_ creepy. You would laugh at me, but I find it very creepy. Thinking about switching to that historical romance I also packed..."

Albus grinned. "Sounds great. You can give the crime novel to me then."

Scorpius pinched him, but he already knew he would hand the book over to him later.

*

Swimming in the pool was as wonderful as they had all expected it to be: The water was pleasantly cool and Albus had a lot of fun swimming, diving and joking around with Neville. After a while, Draco joined them too, but he didn't seem as keen on romping around with them and being splashed at all the time, which they all respected. He didn't say no to a round of water ball though.

In the end, they were all tired sooner than they had dreaded, but wasn't that always the case on a first day you went on holiday?

For dinner they simply had bread with a lot of delicious cheese – Albus missed eating sausage a bit, but since Scorpius didn't eat meat anymore since Hagrid had let him help with the birth of Leander, he accepted the situation.

"I think we should all get some rest, hm?" Draco asked after they had sat on the terrace for quite a while, "We still have two whole wonderful weeks ahead of us..."

"Yes, that's right," Albus nodded with a smile, "I'd like to thank you again for taking me."

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we're really glad you came along, Albus," Draco replied with a genuine smile. "It's a pleasure to have you around."

"Oh, er... thank you," Albus replied and couldn't help but blush. He had never seen Draco direct such a smile at him. It was almost as beautiful as Scorpius's... Oh, and Scorpius was smiling at him too, and he was just _so damn_ happy...

They brushed their teeth together, just like they always did at school, and when Scorpius was finished too and left the bathroom, he came straight towards Albus's bed to slip underneath the blanket next to him.

Albus had to smile as he cuddled up to him and lay his head on his shoulder.

"I didn't ask because you told me not to anymore...," he then heard Scorpius whisper and the smile in his voice couldn't be overheard.

"Oh, I knew you were a bright lad," Albus replied, tongue-in-cheek, and an arm around his friend.

Scorpius giggled. "Sleep well, Albus," he then said sleepily, "I'm sure we'll have a great day tomorrow."

"Mh, you too," Albus replied and threw one more glance at Scorpius's tired face, then he closed his eyes as well.

*

The next day started with breakfast outside, because it was already pretty warm at nine o'clock in the morning, and then continued with a few lazy hours at the pool, after everyone had conscientiously applied sunblock.

Scorpius had really left him the crime novel and switched to his historical romance. He was resting on his own lounger, now and then changing positions from lying to sitting to lying on his belly, but they had put their loungers very closely together, so Albus would always stop reading when he heard the blond move again and have a look what position he had now decided to take.

It was, to be honest, much more interesting than the novel, which was not creepy at all. Okay, he was only on page 33, but, well...

Albus heard a small sigh from his left, and when he peeped in that direction from behind his book where Draco and Neville lay on their loungers underneath the other sunshade, he could see Draco shifting onto his belly. He and Neville were reading too. Dozing more than reading, in Neville's case, but Draco's movement must have brought him back, because he stretched a bit and then watched his fiancé.

Albus quickly looked back at his book, because he wouldn't want to be caught staring by Neville.

But then, Neville moved, and Albus _had_ to look again, because this damn book was so boring...

Neville was slowly getting up from his lounger and halfway sat down on Draco's, with one foot still on the ground and one knee between Draco's outstretched legs. The blond noticed, of course, but did nothing except grumble a bit. _His_ book seemed to be interesting.

Then Neville bent down, slowly, one hand resting next to Draco's shoulder, until his bare chest touched Draco's bare back and he – he could kiss Draco's neck.

It was a very small kiss and it didn't look disgusting at all, but there was something more about it than when his parents kissed to say hello or goodbye. Something Albus couldn't quite grasp, but... kind of feel.

Neville did it again. And again, a few more inches up, where Draco's hairline began.

And then Draco said – not very loudly, but Albus could hear him anyway: " _Neville_. The boys..."

Just three simple words, but Albus swore there was something special in his voice when he said them. Especially Neville's name. Something magical. Or, better: electric.

Neville chuckled softly, and that sounded special too, and then he buried his nose in Draco's hair and inhaled deeply, and Albus noticed that their bodies were pressed together like – like…

 _Oh Merlin_...

He hid behind his book and tried to take a few calm breaths. Suddenly, he remembered that this was – that this was, were they fully naked, what it must look like when two men had sex together. They had learned it in second year, and James constantly made rude jokes about it. _"Up his bum"_...

But that was disgusting. How did...?

He bit his lip and dared to look again.

Neville was still very close to Draco from behind and now massaging or... or just rubbing his back, his shoulders, his neck... And Draco had closed his eyes and looked – absolutely content.

Draco was a person who would never do something disgusting, would he? But then...

 _Did_ they have sex? Fuck, this was nothing he wanted to think about, and it made him blush fiercely.

But of course, he thought about it again. Not only on that day.

Whenever the two of them were close the next days, Albus had to peek, to watch, and not once Draco looked like Neville had _ever_ done something disgusting with him. He laughed, and he smiled, and once in a while when there was a quiet moment where Albus could feel that electricity between them again, Draco would say: " _Neville_...", and it would sound just as special as the first time.

"Oh, Daddy, what's that? Have you hurt yourself?" Scorpius asked, when they all had come back from a day in the charming town close by and jumped into their pool as soon as possible.

He was pointing to a small purplish bruise on Draco's shoulder that had been hidden the whole day underneath his shirt.

"Oh, er, that's er..."

"A love bite," Neville threw in with a careful smile, "Happens when you kiss someone too long on one spot."

"Oh. Yes, I've heard of that," Scorpius grinned, and Albus went as red as a tomato, quickly letting himself drown in the water so no one could see.

Of course they had sex.

And Draco enjoyed it. Even if it was up the...

This couldn't be disgusting, this must be very, very good. The way he said " _Neville_..." was proof. Like he didn't really want him to stop.

When Albus came back up and gasped for air, he realised he wanted nothing more than Scorpius to say his name _just like that_.

He wasn't really sure yet what that meant and he didn't really feel like thinking about it just now, but that was probably okay. He would just deal with it later.

For now, he was glad to be in the pool with his best friend and to play a bit of water ball. And once in a while, he also allowed himself to glance at Draco, who was carried through the water by Neville, floating in his arms as if he was weightless. He looked beautiful and happy, and Albus swore to himself to _never ever_ listen to James's rude remarks again.


	11. Courting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your lovely support!
> 
> I really appreciate that you're still sticking with this story when there's going on so much everywhere else... But writing is a great outlet for me, so I'll definitely continue with this, and I hope I can make your day a Knut better with this as well :)

" _Neville_. The boys..."

Merlin, he could go crazy...

He could feel Neville on top of him, his chest touching his bare back and... Salazar, were they alone he'd love to have him go further, but with the boys...

He heard his fiancé chuckle. "I'm sorry. You're very hard to resist."

Draco snorted and turned his head slightly. "Save it for later, darling...," he whispered sweetly and raised his eyebrows.

Neville only grinned. "Oh, don't worry. I will."

Draco grinned as well and felt how he couldn't wait for later to arrive.

Of course, they could also excuse themselves now and the boys probably wouldn't mind or even think... But, well... in front of Albus, he felt even more shy. He couldn't help but imagine him telling his father every detail of it, even though he knew this was stupid. Albus didn't talk to his dad about such things, and he didn't even seem to pay that much attention to them...

Well, maybe he did, Draco noticed from out of the corner of his eye. Because this was probably very new to him and children were curious, especially about things they didn't know yet.

"Mmh, but I could rub your back," Neville suggested, and with his lips touching his ear, he added: "Don't worry, I'll look very innocent doing it."

Draco snorted again, but couldn't help it and gave in eventually. Neville's strong fingers always felt so wonderful when they tended to his shoulders... "Alright...," he mumbled and closed his eyes with a content smile.

Neville might _look_ very innocent while giving him one of the greatest massages he had ever had, but Draco knew very well that his intentions definitely weren't from the way his fingers lingered just a tad too long on his skin with every sensual rub.

Oh, Salazar... He gave in, alright. It should be okay if he just stayed a bit longer on his belly after Neville would be finished...

*

When they got up to prepare dinner later, Draco was deeply relaxed. He had been agitated most of his life, if not fighting for survival anymore then for the health of his wife. With Neville, he felt so at ease and calm sometimes, it was downright frightening.

Maybe that's what gave him enough confidence to casually begin a chat with Albus when Neville and Scorpius had thrown them out of the kitchen to prepare their 'special surprise barbecue'.

He sat down on the sofa next to the boy and asked him: "How is your dad behaving these days?"

"Oh," Albus made and for quite a while, it was the only thing he replied. "Alright. I guess," he added eventually and didn't really look Draco in the eyes.

For a moment, Draco thought he had gone too far, but then he decided to give it another chance.

"Yes, dads are not so easy sometimes," he said with a small smile.

Albus snorted. "You could say that," he then mumbled and started playing with one of the cushions on the sofa.

"Oh, I'm not just saying that. I'm speaking of my own experience," Draco decided to add. "My father always thought he knew me and my needs, because he thought I was just like him, and I thought, for a long time, I actually wanted to be like him, but the truth was: I just wanted him to love me. And that is not always by following in your parents' footsteps."

Albus finally looked up at him and Draco saw that he was really surprised at that. "Really?" he then wanted to know as if he couldn't quite believe him.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "You do know that my father was a Death Eater, do you?"

"Y-yes, of course."

Draco nodded. "Well... I was raised with a certain set of values and believes from a very young age, so it took me a while to realise that there were different views on things and other options in life. I..." He had to look down at his nails for a moment. Hadn't thought that this still hit him so hard after all those years...

"I had been able to hide behind my father for a long time, but when he wasn't there anymore and I had – I had to take his place, I had to be what I always had thought was exactly what I wanted: to be him... That's when I realised that I'm very... _very_ different." He nodded with a small smile and tried not to look too emotional. Merlin, this was ridiculous, he shouldn't have started with this in the first place – in front of Albus on top of things!

He cleared his throat and quickly continued. "It might not look like it, because we Malfoys are all very civilised people, but I loathe him until today for not giving me any choice, ever. You're cleverer than I was, Albus, you know that you can be different, that you _are_ different, and you know how to fight for it. But I want you to remember that being a father isn't easy either. A parent always thinks they know what's best for their child – Merlin, even my father probably thought so. And they are always scared to do something wrong that can't be repaired later. Your father is probably even more scared, because he has no own father to emulate or object."

It took Albus a while, but he nodded eventually. "Thank you for telling me this," he then replied quietly, "I had no idea that you... But it feels really, really good to know that I'm not the only one who feels like this. I... I'm just always... I don't want to let him down, you know?" he said very quietly, "But I just know that I'm... well that I'm not like him. I never will be."

"Oh," Draco replied with a smile, "As someone who is not blinded by your father's heroics, I am one who sees his flaws, and as he surely does so himself, because we always rather see the worst in us, don't we? – I'm sure he will come to see the advantages of that too. Look at Scorpius," he added with a bright smile. "He's everything I could never be, and still – no, _for_ this reason, I think he's perfect."

"Yes," Albus replied with a gentle and loving smile, "He really is. But I don't think you two are that different,” he added as an afterthought.

"Oh, we are," Draco laughed softly. "And that's good."

Albus smiled a bit shyly. "I don't think so. You're both very kind people. Thanks again for... for letting me stay with you these holidays. I'm having such a great time."

Draco grinned, because he couldn't deny he was a bit proud of himself that he could make other children feel welcome in his company too. Of course he knew that, for Albus, it was all about Scorpius, but well...

"I've noticed as much. And I'm really glad about that. You're always welcome at our home, Albus."

"Thank you," the younger one replied and gave Draco a genuine smile.

Not much later, Neville and Scorpius served their famous barbecue, and they had a nice evening on the terrace, with Neville being the most attentive waiter Draco had ever seen.

It took him exactly two minutes, then he realised why Neville was so attentive. He was looking for any way to touch him, to caress him, to watch him. To show him how much he meant to him.

It was already then, that Draco realised that tonight they wouldn't only be cuddling before they went to sleep...

*

"Is there any reason you were so courteous during dinner, darling?" Draco pretended not to know while he was stripping in the bathroom.

"I'm a Gryffindor, remember?" Neville replied teasingly from the bedroom. "I'm always courteous and chivalrous."

"Oh. Of course," Draco snorted. "Is that why you pressed your incredibly insolent manhood against my backside this afternoon?"

"No," Neville replied and Draco could practically hear him grin, "I did that only because you like to feel it so much."

"Oh, I do?" Draco scoffed. "Really?" He came out of the bathroom in only his pants and confidently walked over to Neville, who was sitting on the bed, only in pants too, but he was actually sleeping like that in summer. Draco, on the other hand, was making a statement.

"Isn't it rather the other way round?" He shoved Neville's arms, with which he wanted to greet him, away and straddled his lap instead. "That your impudent manhood is craving the feel of my cheeks and my walls clenching around it?"

Neville chuckled and gently wrapped his arms around Draco's waist anyway. "Let's say there's a... mutual interest?" he suggested with a grin.

"Hm, yes, we could agree on that," Draco nodded with a devious grin. "So... why don't we give them a bit of privacy tonight?" he whispered against Neville's lips. "No bold fingers interfering... no distracting tongues... Just the two of them, courting each other, until they finally can unite."

"Go ahead, love," Neville replied and Draco loved to hear the lust in his voice, "Sounds good to me..."

Draco smiled, pleased with Neville's reaction, and leaned in to kiss him. Slowly, very slowly, but deeply, and with that he set the pace.

"Why don't you give me a massage again?" he suggested quietly. "I was so completely relaxed afterwards, it felt like you could've just slipped inside me if you had wanted to."

Neville groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. "Merlin, I would have loved to do that...," he then muttered, "You looked so beautiful down at the pool. So yeah... lie down, my love. I'd love to give you a _proper_ massage now..."

Draco smiled, brushed along Neville's jawline with his fingers until he reached his chin, then he got up from his lap and lay down on the bed, on his belly, his head comfortably resting on one of the pillows.

He felt the mattress shift under Neville's weight as the taller one leaned over him until his chest touched his back. "You still look incredibly beautiful...," he whispered before he kissed his neck.

"Mh. Naturally," Draco mumbled into the pillow and closed his eyes. "But you're probably aware how hot you look with that tan."

"You think so?" Neville wanted to know, his lips trailing down Draco's back, gently grazing his soft skin with his teeth here and there.

Draco made a content sound and dug his fingers into the pillow. "I can give you my word."

Neville laughed quietly before his lips continued their trail downwards. "Hang on for a moment...," he then muttered, and Draco couldn't help but groan impatiently at the loss of contact.

But Neville was back in a second and with him came a wonderful smell of roses. Draco shuddered because he knew even before he felt it that Neville had brought some massage oil with him.

"Told you I'm gonna give you a proper massage," he whispered into his ear as he dribbled some of the well-scented liquid on his back.

"Yes," Draco sighed, "Please. Mmh, how on earth do I deserve you?"

"I could ask the same, my love...," Neville simply replied as his strong fingers started to massage his shoulders.

Draco moaned quietly. "Let's not... discuss this again," he decided. "M-maybe we both just... accept that we've been... oh, yes... extremely lucky – ohh, mmh... You're sure there isn't any magic involved, darling?"

"Positive...," Neville replied with a smile as his hands slowly slid down a bit, "You know that I'm far better with my hands than with my wand..."

Draco smiled into the pillow. "Depends which wand you're referring to."

Neville laughed gently. "We'll see which one you prefer later on... for now, I'd like to stick to my hands."

"Oh, gladly," Draco sighed, "But first let me..." He pressed his hips up against Neville's crotch and pulled at his pants so that his growing erection could lie naturally against his belly when he lay back down. "Ah, better..."

"Let me help you with that...," Neville murmured and pulled Draco's pants off completely before he got rid of his own as well. "Much better...," he murmured as his erection now lightly grazed Draco's thighs.

"Oh, mhh, I can see...," he murmured and sighed contentedly when Neville continued to massage his shoulders.

Neville took his time and only let his fingers trail downwards slowly. "How are you feeling, my love?" he wanted to know once his hands had finally reached his lower back.

"Wonderful," Draco answered and moved his body towards those skilled fingers and back down into the mattress, spreading his legs a bit more. "Go on."

And Neville did, massaging his butt cheeks now, his thighs, and then his cheeks again and up to his shoulders. Draco couldn't believe how relaxing that felt and how much he desired to finally feel his fiancé...

"Merlin, I want you," he sighed, "Put some of that oil onto your brave manhood, will you? And then give me your hands."

Neville gladly obliged. "Like that?" he then wanted to know and kissed Draco's neck, as his body was pressed against Draco’s from head to toe.

"Yes," Draco sighed, entwining their fingers. "Now try if you can breach me. We can take this slow. I want to feel it happening."

"Alright...," Neville replied, "But tell me if it gets too much, darling, will you?"

"Of course. It would help if you continued kissing my neck...," he was pretty sure, because he knew that he had felt arousal, comfort and calmness at the same time when his fiancé had done that at the pool.

"Okay...," Neville replied and started kissing his neck again as he slowly pushed against Draco.

Draco breathed slowly where he normally gasped. He felt so incredibly safe with Neville on top of him, like a shield, and so when he spread his legs a bit more and tilted his hips, he felt the tip slip forward an inch.

It gave him pleasure to feel this and hear Neville hold his breath while his hands grabbed his fingers tighter.

"Is it hard to keep it slow, my love, hm?" he managed to tease him a bit.

Neville only replied with a shaky moan. "It is. But I'll m-manage... for you, darling..."

"Yes," Draco replied and bit his lip as he could feel himself get looser again and Neville slip in a bit more. "When you're f-finally inside completely, you may f-fuck me as you please."

His fiancé moaned. And slipped in deeper.

That's when Draco noticed that it helped a lot to hear that sound, so he decided to elicit it a bit more often...

"I... I only have to think about the feeling of you buried inside of me," he whispered, "and m-my hole is twitching with anticipation... Do you feel it?"

"M-Merlin, yes...," Neville replied with a groan, "Of course I do, D-Draco..."

Now Draco did gasp, because he could feel the strain on his muscle, but he also knew that it was just for one or two more inches and then –

They both moaned when finally, the tip slipped in completely, and from there it was easy.

Neville could start to move now, to fuck him open with every gentle thrust, and when he finally had found his rhythm, Draco was already so close...

His fiancé too, who was moaning obscenities about how he felt and sounded into his ear when he wasn't busy biting his neck.

"N-no... _Neville_."

"Wha-?"

"You're doing it... again. We've said n-no love bites when I'll be half naked the whole time."

"Shit, b-but they look so hot on you..."

Draco closed his eyes for a moment. This, all of this was feeling too good. Neville was hitting the spot and then his mouth on his neck, _constantly_...

"I know it turns you on to see... your claim on me," he gasped and spread his fingers, so Neville could clearly see his engagement ring, "but isn't this enough?"

Neville laughed breathlessly. "It is," he answered honestly, "But it's just... so hot to see those... m-mh... marks on your beautiful, pale skin..."

And as soon as he had finished speaking, his mouth was back on him, his teeth, kissing – and sucking...

Draco whimpered with pleasure, he felt how close he was, brought his hip back down so his erection rubbed against the mattress with every hard thrust.

And Neville was still sucking, sucking and moaning against this neck as if he – Fuck, Draco could feel his hip stutter and then he exploded inside of him, and Draco couldn't take it anymore.

He came hard, his moans and mewls muffled in the pillow, his fiancé buried deep inside of him and his lips still on his neck.

"Hah... I'm sorry," Neville said and had at least the decency to sound guilty. "You... you're probably gonna have a bruise now."

"I'll blame you if someone stares at it...," Draco replied in mock reproachfulness before he turned his head to meet Neville's lips for a long kiss.

"You do that," Neville chuckled, both elbows next to Draco's shoulders and still united with him. "Am I too heavy?" he whispered while showering his neck and shoulders with soft kisses.

"No, you're perfect...," Draco replied with a content sigh, "I love to feel your weight on me..."

Neville made a pleased sound.

Then he gently took Draco's hand and touched his ring.

"I love to see this on you. And your bracelet... Can't wait to marry you."

"Me neither," Draco replied, "I mean... there's lots to prepare, but I'm looking forward to that as well..."

"Mmh, right. The honeymoon, for example..."

Draco laughed. "I was more thinking along the lines of invitation cards, the banquet, flowers, decoration... but yes, darling, I'm looking forward to the honeymoon as well."

Neville chuckled softly, then pressed a kiss to his ear and warned him before he pulled out.

"I'm looking forward to a hot bath now," he said. "What do you think?"

"Mmh, yes...," Draco agreed immediately, "That sounds like a wonderful plan..."


	12. Dancing

“So, what about that record player?”

Like every evening, they prepared dinner together and ate on the terrace where it was still pleasantly warm around this time of the day.

"So," Draco asked after they were finished, "What about that record player in the living room? I'd love to dance a bit. And it would be good practice for our wedding..." He grinned and raised his eyebrows at Neville, "Or did you forget how to dance?"

Neville laughed heartily. "I still _love_ it. Don't know why we do that so little."

"Hm. Maybe because our living room at home is too small?"

"It's a shame!"

"Ooh, that sounds like so much fun!" Scorpius said and beamed at Neville and Draco. "Let's try it, okay? I always love to see you dance together!"

They all went into the living room and Albus followed, even though he did it a bit hesitantly. He liked listening to music a lot, but he had never tried to dance to it before and somehow, he couldn't imagine that he was very good at it. But maybe only Draco and Neville would dance anyway...

"Should we start with a waltz?" Draco asked after he had switched the record player on with his wand. "They have all sorts of music here..."

"Sounds good," Neville replied and once the music was playing, he offered a hand to Draco. "May I have this dance, Mr Malfoy?"

Draco put his hands to his hips and looked critical. "Are you any good, Longbottom?"

Neville grinned and Albus bit his lip because he could feel the electricity between them again. "Would you like to find out?"

"Oh, in lack of other options, I'd say yes," Draco replied and the second he finally took Neville's hand, the taller one pulled him into a close embrace and began to move with him through the room.

They didn't seem to have any problem to find the right rhythm – Scorpius commented on how graceful and beautiful they moved and Albus had to agree that they were doing an amazing job.

"Imagine I had asked you twenty years ago...," Neville chuckled after he had just sent Draco into a twirl and then gently caught him again.

Draco rolled his eyes in a way that looked as if he wanted to cover up that he was ashamed of something. "I would have hexed you."

Neville laughed gently. "Of course you would have. I'm glad we got a second chance, though."

Draco replied very quietly, so Albus didn't hear, but he looked absolutely in love and put his head on Neville's shoulder while they danced on.

Suddenly, his view was blocked, because Scorpius had gotten up and extended a hand towards him. "May I have this dance, Mr Potter?" he asked.

Albus hesitated, not because of Scorpius, but because he was very unsure of himself. "I... I don't know if I can do this, Scorpius...," he replied quietly.

"In case you don't know how to dance, I can teach you," Scorpius suggested with a sweet smile.

"Really?" Albus replied, still sounding unsure, "You know I'm not very good with my feet and so on..."

Scorpius's smile didn't falter and he hadn't taken back his outstretched hand either. "I won't force you if you really don't want to, but I'd be very delighted if you tried."

"Okay," Albus agreed eventually because he didn't want to let his best friend down, "But don't judge me, okay?"

"Never," Scorpius promised and made a small jump of joy when Albus took his hand.

"I’ll lead, okay?" he asked, and when Albus nodded, he took his free hand and put it on Scorpius's shoulder while the blond put his on Albus's back.

"Now watch our feet," he said. "It's always the same three steps. We move this way – come on, follow my foot. Yeah, right. And then the other. And theeen, back. Brilliant! Let's do that again."

It took Albus a while to get used to the movement, but Scorpius seemed to be a really good dancer and as long as he followed his lead, he actually did quite alright.

"See? It's fun, right?" Scorpius wanted to know as they were dancing around the room.

"Er, it's – oh, I – need to concentrate," he laughed embarrassedly, because dancing _and_ talking wasn't something his brain could manage yet.

"Oh, no one notices if you mess up a few steps," Scorpius giggled. "Look, we could just – jump! Aaand then twirl – swoosh!"

Albus laughed and held on to his friend. "Let's take this slow, okay? I think not tripping and only messing up a few steps is already really advanced for me..."

"Yes, and I'm really proud of you. Maybe it helps when I tell you – my dance teacher always thought that helped: Albus Severus," he continued with a very serious voice. "You're doing really great. There's still room for improvement, but for a starter, you're doing reaaally fine. Wonderful. I'm so proud of you. Let's do this _one_ more time."

Albus couldn't stop himself from laughing. He had to laugh so hard his belly hurt, and of course he tumbled all the more, but Scorpius caught him – at least he tried to. They both tried to catch each other from tumbling over.

When they decided to take a break, Draco brought wine and grape juice and they sat next to each other on the comfortable sofa.

"So, at the end of this year, there will be the Yule ball, right?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, yes, right," Neville replied. "This year it's your turn. Excited?"

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, but Albus couldn't really hide that he didn't like the idea at all.

"It's just... I'm not so fond of public events...," he replied after Scorpius had thrown him a questioning look.

That was a truth, but what worried him more was: Did he need a girl to go with? Two years ago, James and his friends had really made a fuss about who gets which girl to dance with them... Wow, he could really feel his stomach going sick when he thought about having to spend the evening with a girl clinging to his arm. And having to see one clinging to Scorpius's. Would Scorpius like that? He loved dancing, of course he would like that... damn.

"Hey, it won't be that bad," Scorpius said and gently touched his arm, "And we can always go outside if it gets too much. They decorate the yard with lots of pretty lights, don't they?" He saw how he looked up at Neville.

"Yeah, and it's the only night you're allowed to be outside your dorm after curfew," Neville smiled, "So I wouldn't miss that."

Albus nodded and gave his best attempt at a smile while imagining Scorpius leading his girl along the lantern lined way over the Castle Grounds and then kissing her underneath the stars.

But the Yule ball was only at the end of the year and now he was here, with Scorpius, on their wonderful holiday in Italy. And he didn't want to spoil that with such stupid thoughts.

He didn't know why, but this night he felt the need to be as close to his friend as possible. Scorpius didn't seem to mind and only snuggled up to him every time Albus woke up and put his arms around his friend again possessively.

*

The music was playing; it was a lovely waltz. Neville liked it.

With a smile, he offered Draco a hand.

"May I have this dance, Mr Malfoy?"

Draco put his hands to his hips and looked critical, but Neville could tell he was only posing. "Are you any good, Longbottom?"

Neville had to grin. "Would you like to find out?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, in lack of other options, I'd say yes," Draco replied and the second he finally took his hand, Neville pulled him into a close embrace and began to move with him through the room.

As always, they didn't have any problem to find the right rhythm, their bodies perfectly listening to each other, and Neville had to smile when he remembered what a disaster their first attempt had been...

Both had tried to lead and so it had been bound to fail completely. Neville had been the one to give in of course, but he simply hadn't been able to follow Draco's lead and started to clumsily stumble over both their feet.

So, Draco had shown mercy, and since Neville could be the one to lead, it was perfect.

"Imagine I had asked you twenty years ago...," Neville chuckled after he had just sent his fiancé into a twirl and then gently caught him again.

Draco rolled his eyes in a way that told Neville that he secretly was ashamed of something. "I would have hexed you." Maybe because this probably would have been the truth.

Nevertheless, Neville laughed gently. "Of course you would have. I'm glad we got a second chance, though."

"Me too, darling," Draco replied very quietly, "I don't even want to imagine what my life would be like right now if we hadn't gotten another chance..."

"Hm," Neville made, because he didn't either. He only put his cheek to Draco's head, and held him close while he led him across the room to the soothing music.

"Look at these two," he whispered into Draco's ear when he noticed that Scorpius and Albus had started to dance together too.

"Hm...?" Draco made and sounded as if he had been deep in thought. "Oh..." He looked over at Scorpius and Albus and smiled. "Scorpius learned how to dance when he was still quite young. Just like I did..."

"Looks like he's really good at it..."

"Of course he is. I've spent pockets full of Galleons for that dance teacher..."

Neville chuckled softly and tried to avert his eyes from the two boys. "Looks like they're starting a bit earlier with their practice for the wedding..."

Draco chocked, but he only looked startled for a moment. "Maybe they are, yes...," he replied quietly. "Who would have ever guessed..." He chuckled and leant his head against Neville's shoulder.

"I bet not Harry..."

Draco snorted. "I'm ready to take him on if he has got any problems. No one's telling my son who's the right one for him, not even Potter."

Neville smiled and his lips brushed Draco's ear. "Do you think Albus's the right one?"

Draco hesitated, but only for a short moment. "I don't know if it's too early to say so... but I think so, yes."

"Hm. He makes him incredibly happy," Neville agreed. "And I think that's what matters most."

Draco smiled. "Yes, I agree," he nodded before he placed a hand in Neville's neck to gently stroke him there. "That's the most important thing. I speak from personal experience."

That and the look he gave him made Neville's chest expand with warmth and love, so he couldn't really help it and just had to throw Draco into one of his arms and bend down to kiss him, before he pulled him back up to hold him tight, both of them laughing with joy.


	13. A New Friend

The next day at breakfast, Neville suggested to go for a walk. "I'd love to have a look at the native plants. And it doesn't seem to get too hot today. Will you join me?"

"Oh, yes!" Scorpius was excited at once, and Albus nodded too. "Yeah, why not. I think I'd like to see more of our surroundings too."

Draco sighed. "You know I'm not the adventurous type. But well, if you all go..."

"I'll watch out for you, darling," Neville promised and pressed a kiss to Draco's forehead.

Draco snorted. "Of course you will..."

So, they went outside after breakfast, Neville and Albus carrying a backpack with water bottles and a few leftovers from yesterday's dinner for a snack.

They had already went down the lane into the small village, but now Neville was leading the way up, and when the path ended, they had reached a very nice site with wild grass and a great view over the valley where you could see the village.

"This is so pretty!" Scorpius swooned and jumped ahead to have a good view, while Draco took a second to breathe and demand something to drink from Neville.

Albus decided to follow his friend and sat down next to him.

They were just chatting a bit when Albus suddenly saw something moving in the high grass. For a second, he thought about getting up immediately and pulling Scorpius away, but then he realised that it was a green snake that slithered towards them, and even though he was still on his guard, he wasn't exactly frightened.

"Oh – oh, Albus!" Scorpius saw it too and grabbed his arm, ready to get up apparently, but he also sounded kind of excited.

So Albus thought it best to ask the snake what it wanted.

" _Hello, I'm Albus_ ," he started, " _Who are you?_ "

" _Hello, Albus_ ," the snake replied in a soft voice, " _I heard strangers entering my home and wanted to know what was going on..._ "

" _Oh, sorry, do you mean us?_ " he apologised immediately. " _We don't mean any harm. We're just tourists, you know? And want to get to know the landscape a bit better._ "

"What's up?" Scorpius asked in the meantime, his voice quiet. He hadn't let go of Albus's arm either. "Are we trespassing again?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Say sorry."

"I already did." But for good measure he added: " _I shall say sorry from my friend too, for intruding._ _We'll be gone soon. Is that okay?_ "

" _Sure_ ," the snake hissed and Albus thought it nodded its head a bit, "S _tay as long as like. I just wanted to make sure there's no da-_ "

The snake was interrupted mid-sentence by a piercing cry. Apparently, Draco had wanted to make his way over to them and, upon seeing the snake, panicked. Albus couldn't remember ever having seen him like this: He looked sickly pale, his eyes had gone wide and he was trembling from head to toe.

"Draco! What's up?" Neville was alarmed immediately too, and upon his fast steps towards them, the snake lifted its head, alarmed.

"Daddy, don't panic!" Scorpius got up quickly to hug his dad. "Everything's fine."

" _Please, keep calm, he's just scared_ ," Albus tried to calm the snake down again, " _Bad encounter with a bad snake, you know? It wasn't even a wild one, it was used by a bad man, but that's stuck with him. No offence._ "

The snake lowered its head, and when it spoke again, Albus thought it sounded really sad. " _No. No offence. I'm used to people being scared of me... I'll leave then._ "

" _Just give him a moment_ ," Albus asked kindly, " _I'd love to get to know you better. So does my friend. We just need a moment to ourselves._ "

The snake hesitated and seemed to look over where Neville was hugging Draco now too, who was apparently trying to call Albus’s name, but had no voice.

Then it looked back at him. " _Are you not scared of me?_ "

" _No, why would I be_?" Albus replied, " _I know that you don't mean any harm either._ "

The snake hesitated again while watching him closely, and Albus really tried not to blink either, which was kind of hard when you weren't a snake...

Finally, it nodded. " _I'll wait here._ "

" _Thank you!_ " he replied with relief, before getting up.

"Draco, I'm alright," he went over to where Draco looked still quite shaken.

"What – what was that snake up to?" he asked frightenedly. "It was so close I – M-merlin, I thought it would attack any moment a-and...!"

"No, no, it's actually really sad that no one wants to talk to it because everyone's scared," Albus said. "I explained to it why you're so upset, so it should stay away from you."

"Is it gone now?" Scorpius asked, and he sounded disappointed what made Albus kind of smile.

"No, I just told it to wait a bit, give us some time. I think it would love to talk to us some more."

"Oh yay!"

"Scorpius," Draco warned his son and sounded as stern as Albus had never heard him speak with him before. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"But Daddy...," Scorpius replied gently, "Albus can talk to it. And I'm sure he would have noticed if it had any bad intentions. You know how much I love animals..."

Draco looked like he took that into consideration, but still had to fight his own fear.

"Come on, we can sit down over there, my love," Neville, who was gently rubbing Draco's shoulders, stepped in. "Take a break and have some food, and let the boys play. We're far away enough so you don't come too close to the snake, and close enough to intervene. But I'm sure Albus is a good judge of the situation, and I've read nothing about really dangerous snakes in Italy anywhere."

It took Draco another moment of hesitation, but eventually, he gave in. "But be careful. And watch out for yourselves," he said and looked sternly at Albus as if it was his responsibility now to make sure that Scorpius wasn't harmed.

"Yes, Draco," Albus nodded firmly, and felt a kind of pride swell in his chest that he entrusted him with his son.

"Come on, then," he addressed Scorpius with a small smile and held out a hand for him, which the blond took immediately with a big grin.

" _Are you still there_?" he asked after they had walked a bit into the snake's direction again.

The grass moved to their left, and the snake lifted its head. " _Over here_ ," it replied. " _Is everything alright?_ "

" _Yes, everything's fine,_ " Albus answered, " _I've come back with my friend. His name is Scorpius_ ," he introduced the blond, " _He wanted to meet you_."

" _Oh, nice to meet him too_ ," the snake nodded politely.

It told them where it grew up, and what it had seen over the years, that it was male, had lost its family and had no companion (Scorpius nearly cried at that point), and what it ate as a favourite.

"My favourite are sweets," Scorpius replied with a grin and Albus translated. "But that's not very healthy. I don't eat animals, though. Not anymore."

After a while, all three of them were really relaxed, and that's why Albus thought it safe to go with it, when Scorpius asked him if it would be rude to ask the snake if he could touch it.

" _Hey there, my friend wants to know if he can touch you? He loves animals really much and wants to get to know more about them, so he'd like to see how you feel. Er, would that be okay?_ "

" _Sure,"_ the snake didn't hesitate, " _I've never touched a human before. It's said that they are always warm, but I can't quite believe that._.."

Albus chuckled. "Okay, go on, it wants to see how you feel too."

Scorpius grinned excitedly. "That's so cool," he said and held out a hand for the snake. It slithered a bit closer and then, very carefully, Scorpius let his fingers slide over its body.

He was thrilled. "Oh Salazar! It's really soft! Oh, and soo smooth...!"

" _Oh, he_ is _warm, isn't he?_ " the snake hissed, and when Scorpius turned around his hand, it slithered onto it and coiled around his naked arm.

Suddenly, Scorpius giggled. "Ooh, that tickles! It touched me with its tongue..."

" _What's that? Does he like the touch of me too?_ "

Albus chuckled. " _Yeah, very much._ " And for Scorpius he added: "He likes your skin too."

They sat with the snake for quite a while and Albus noticed how sad Scorpius got when it was time to say goodbye.

"Why – why don't you tell it where we live at the moment?" he asked, "Then it could come and visit us if it likes!"

"Oh, that's a great idea," Albus nodded, " _Scorpius just reminds me that we live close by. I mean, just for a few days, but if you want to come visit us..._ "

" _Oh, I'd love to!_ "

" _Okay, see that roof down there? With the pool?_ "

" _The pool?_ "

" _The, er, very clean pond._ "

" _Ah, yes._ "

" _That's where we live at the moment. We'd love to see you again. But just make sure you don't scare his dad when you come, okay?_ "

" _I'll give my best._ "

They said goodbye after that and went back to Neville and Draco, who seemed to have calmed down at least a bit.

"It was a very polite and kind snake, Daddy," Scorpius reassured him and Draco nodded, even though he didn't seem too convinced. But he was, apparently, very glad to have Scorpius back as he hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I've just made... very bad experiences with snakes...," he felt the need to explain again, but they all understood and simply decided to head home for today.

After dinner, Albus and Scorpius went back to their room and cuddled up in bed together.

"I _really_ liked the snake today. I hope it comes to visit."

"I'm sure it will," Albus replied, "It seemed to like us too."

"And I simply love it when you speak Parsel," Scorpius continued, "It sounds so gentle and beautiful. Would you... would you speak it some more? Now? There doesn't have to be a snake around, right?"

Albus hesitated, but only for a moment. It was still a bit hard for him to believe that Scorpius actually _liked_ the sound of Parseltongue, as so many others were really freaked out by it. But then again, his best friend wouldn't ask him if he didn't like it.

"No, there doesn't have to be a snake around. So, um... what do you want me to say?"

"Anything," Scorpius replied and snuggled up to him.

"Okay, let's see then...," Albus replied and concentrated for a moment. " _I really love our holiday. It's so much fun to be here, the weather's wonderful, the villa is beautiful, the food's delicious..._ "

Scorpius made a content sound and so Albus continued to tell him how much he enjoyed being in Italy until they both got very sleepy.

" _But most of all I love to be here with you. I've always felt so lonely during the summer holidays when we were apart for a week or longer. And now that I'm here with you, I... I wish it could always be like that. To live with you in one house, to make breakfast and lunch and dinner. To see you smile._ You've got such a beautiful smile..." Albus was so tired that he realised too late that he was mixing up English and Parsel and then the words were already out of his mouth.

But before he could think of anything to cover up, Scorpius smiled up at him.

"I think your smile is beautiful too," he whispered and gently stroked Albus's cheek before he blinked sleepily, rested his head on his shoulder again and almost instantly fell asleep.

Albus couldn't sleep for a while after that. But he lay there, with Scorpius so close, and listened to his own fast heartbeat. He still could feel Scorpius's gentle fingers on his cheek. Only when this feeling had vanished, he could close his eyes too and go to sleep.

*

The next day was a lazy day again. They were lounging at the pool after breakfast, reading or sleeping, and now and then, Albus touched his cheek to bring back the feeling of Scorpius's fingers there.

He had read more than half of the crime novel now and, yeah, things _happened_ , okay, but they still weren't creepy.

"How did you think this is creepy?" he asked and turned his head so he could see Scorpius, who was lying on his lounger close by.

"Isn't it?"

"No. Not at all."

He grinned and shrugged. "I thought it was creepy."

"What exactly about it?"

Scorpius bit his lip, and Albus could tell that he was looking super innocent on purpose. "Don't make me recall it or I'll have bad dreams again..."

"You can sleep in my bed tonight if you have nightmares."

Scorpius chuckled and his grin turned less innocent. "You dork."

Albus grinned too, then he paused. Looked over to Draco and Neville, but they were both reading.

"Is someone calling my name?"

Scorpius only looked at him questioningly.

"Oh!" Albus jumped up. "The snake!"

He turned towards the higher grass that was leading up to the pool and really spotted the snake there.

" _Hello there_ ," he greeted with a grin, " _Nice to see you again_."

"Sweet Salazar! Where?!" Draco immediately pulled up his legs.

"Er, sorry. Just over there. Other side of the pool. We're going over, it won't come near you," Albus tried so reassure him and got up together with Scorpius, who jumped ahead to greet the snake with a bright smile.

"Helloo, Cody! We've missed you. How are things?" In his bright yellow speedos, he sat down beside it in the grass.

The snake looked curiously from Scorpius to Albus. " _Cody_?" it then hissed.

" _Yeah, I don't know,_ " Albus laughed. " _He just called you Cody._ Why did you call him Cody?"

"Well, it's weird if he doesn't have a name, isn't it? The name's from my novel, and I really like it. Can you ask him if he likes it too?"

" _Do you like being called Cody_?" Albus asked the snake, which slithered in circles.

" _Oh, yes, yes! I'm Cody now. Can Scorpius pet me again? Please?_ "

Albus laughed. "Cody would like to be petted again," he told Scorpius.

"Oh! Yes, of course," the blond replied and carefully reached out. "Oh, you're colder than yesterday.", he noticed. "Come on, over here, Cody, get some sun."

He moved a few feet on his knees and petted the ground. Cody reacted quickly and slithered over to him.

" _Can I touch you as well?_ " Albus asked, and since Cody had nothing against it, he touched the snake too.

It was soft and smooth – and a bit cold, yes, and when it moved, Albus could feel its strong muscles working underneath his fingers.

It moved up Scorpius's arm, and when he spread out the other arm too, it slithered over his back to reach it.

"Oh. Oh, this is so weird, but good..."

And then it came back around at his chest, and Scorpius was wrapped in snake, and it looked so _good_. The dark, green scales stood out against his pale skin, and Albus felt the weird urge to follow the snake: Touch his back, stroke his soft skin...

"It tickles a bit," Scorpius then giggled and gently petted Cody's head once more before the snake slithered to the ground again.

Cody stayed close to them while they talked and put his head on Scorpius's legs from time to time. And Scorpius put his head on Albus's legs, nestled in his hands, and that's how they spent the next twenty minutes or so, until Neville called them about refreshing their sunscreen.

Albus tried to explain to Cody what that was about and that they had to go back to the shadow.

So, Cody decided to have some food and then maybe come back in the evening or tomorrow.

Back on their loungers, they applied the potion, and when Scorpius was finished with his arms and chest and Albus could see that he wanted to get up, he blurted: "I can do your back."

"Oh, that's very nice of you, thanks," Scorpius replied and handed Albus the potion with a smile.

So Albus put a bit of it on his hands and started to rub it on Scorpius's back. He tried to be very gently doing so, and he really liked the feeling of Scorpius's warm skin underneath his fingers.

"Okay?" he asked quietly, because he wanted to be sure that his friend liked it too.

"Yeah, you're doing great," Scorpius replied and Albus could still hear the smile in his voice.

"Okay...," he mumbled and continued like this. He really took his time, because somehow, he didn't want to rush this, wanted it to last longer...

But then he was kind of ready and had to let go. "Er... done."

"Thanks," Scorpius replied and the way he looked at him then, his beautiful smile on his lips, made everything inside Albus's tummy tingle.

The same happened when they were lying in their bed at night, and Scorpius asked him if he could speak Parsel for him again. His fascinated look, his happy smile when Albus whispered the words...

He snuggled up close and the tingling did not end somehow.

But then, Albus realised that Scorpius had gone stiff in his arms, and when he looked at him, his face was worried and sad.

"What's up?"

"It will be so sad to leave Cody... He has lost his family a-and... has no friends here. I mean... I'd miss him, but I could live with it and fondly think back to him, b-but _he_... Do you think he'll be very sad when we leave? I don't want him to be sad, Albus. I'd have to cry if I knew he's going to be sad and lonely..."

"U-uh, I don't know...," Albus replied because he could hear that Scorpius was close to tears and he didn't want him to feel sad or cry. "We... I mean we could ask him and then, depending on how he reacts... Do you think we could take him with us?"

Scorpius's eyes went big and bright, and Albus knew then and there that he would be in deep shit as soon as he would be home again...

But the prospect of not having to depart from Cody seemed to make Scorpius relax again in his arms, and his naked feet touched Albus's, and his hair smelled so wonderful.

"Good night, Albus," he wished, and Albus thought it was sweet and nice how he said his name, but the " _Neville_ " had sounded differently.

*

It was the day before their departure, when they were enjoying being in the pool for the last time.

After a round of water ball and some splashing about with Neville, they all had gone back to their loungers and Albus read the last few pages of the crime novel that hadn't gotten any more exciting at the end.

Scorpius was reading too, lying on his belly. His hair was still wet, but his skin was already dry. Or was it? As if to verify that assumption, Albus let his eyes wander over the blond's body, and really, he did find a few lonely drops of water: There was one on his thigh, coming from his wet speedos and dribbling down between his legs. Albus licked his lips as if he could brush it away like that, and had to avert his eyes. Then there were two drops at his neck that had dripped from his hair.

He hesitated.

But his book was already closed. So he did it.

Albus got up from his lounger and, very carefully, sat down on Scorpius's, with one foot still on the ground and one knee between his outstretched legs. Scorpius didn't seem to notice, or he didn't mind, which was both fine with Albus.

Then he bent down, slowly, one hand resting next to Scorpius's shoulder, until his bare chest nearly touched Scorpius's bare back.

He practically could feel the warmth radiating from the blond's body. He could see the thin film of sweat on his impeccable skin, the waterdrops on his shoulders...

Slowly he bent down a bit more with his head until his lips almost touched Scorpius's neck – and blew against his skin.

Albus could watch those white hairs, which were even fairer than Scorpius's skin, stand to an end, and how a shiver went through Scorpius's body; he heard him giggle breathlessly and then say: " _Albus_...", with a voice that sent tiny shivers down his own body and elicited this pleasurable tingling deep in his belly again.

Like he didn't really want him to stop.

And Albus was a bit frightened, because he hadn't quite realised yet what he had started.


	14. Cody's New Home

It was late in the evening when Albus arrived at his parents'. Since Neville hadn't been sure when they would get through at the embassy, he had managed to convince his parents to simply wait at home for him, where Albus now tumbled out of the Floo, his suitcase with him.

"Oh, there you are!" They were all sitting on the sofa, and with all, he meant even James. It was Mum who jumped up first to give him a hug and a kiss, and Albus hoped strongly the others would refrain from kissing at least.

"I'm glad to have you back, Albus." His dad hugged him and he gave his best to hug him back.

"We missed you, Al!" Lily confessed.

"I thought you'd get a tan at least...," James joked and gave him a hard slap to the shoulder.

"Let me take care of your laundry," Mum was reaching out for the suitcase.

"Oh n-no that...," Albus replied and clutched his suitcase tighter in his hands, "I'll bring that to you in a moment, I need to unpack first..."

Mum looked at him, confused. "Er...okay."

"Oh, common, what do you want to hide?" James snickered. "Have you bought gay porn in Italy?"

"James!" To Albus's surprise, Dad had raised his voice. James must have been surprised too, because he stopped at once. "Your brother is back for two minutes and you're already insulting him!"

"But Dad, it was only a jo- "

"That comment was uncalled for. You understand me?"

Albus only heard James mumble his reply, but didn't understand much more of their argument, because he had used this opportunity of distraction to hurry up the stairs with his suitcase and lock himself in his room.

He put the suitcase down gently on the floor and opened it.

He couldn't explain how relieved he was when the snake's head popped out between his clothes.

"Cody! _We're there. Oh Merlin, I'm glad you made it. How are you?_ "

" _I'm fine_ ," Cody replied and looked around curiously, " _Is this your home?_ "

" _This is my room. It is in the house of my family._ "

Cody hesitated for a moment. " _But this is not the house where Scorpius lives, am I right? I can't smell him anywhere. Only on your clothes..._ " He looked back down into Albus's suitcase, sticking out his tongue.

" _No, he's... he doesn't live with me here. But at school, we sleep in the same room. Do you miss him?_ "

" _Oh yes!_ " Cody answered. " _But I'm glad you took me with you. When will we see him again? How many sunrises does it take?_ " he asked excitedly.

" _Too many. I miss him too,_ " Albus replied and gently petted Cody's head. " _Listen Cody, I think I... I need to tell my family that I've brought you with me. Could you stay in here for a bit? I'd like to tell them first and then I'll introduce you._ "

" _Oh, okay. I'm excited,_ " Cody replied, slithering in circles through his clothes. " _Do you mean the box I have to stay in?_ "

" _No, in here, you can move around as you please,_ " Albus replied, " _Just don't leave the room yet, okay_?"

" _Ah, okay. That's nice. Thank you, Albus._ " With that, Cody slithered out of the suitcase and let himself be gently patted, before Albus got up and left his room.

He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath.

When he came downstairs, his mum and dad were still in the living room.

"Hey there," his dad greeted him and Albus tried to return his smile.

"Hey. I, er... I guess I have to tell you something...," he started carefully.

"Oh," his dad made and Albus could see the look of surprise on his parents' faces. "Of course, Albus. You can tell us anything," his dad then added and the smile was back on his face.

"Why don't we sit down," Mum suggested, and so they sat down on the sofa, Dad on the armchair opposite.

Albus had decided to make this short, so he'd do it like that.

"Er, in Italy, we met – er, that is: Scorpius and I, we met a snake, his name is Cody, a-and he's a really peaceful and nice snake, but he has no family and friends in Italy and was really devastated when we had to go, so I... I took him. With me. He's in my room upstairs."

It took his parents a moment to react and when they did, Albus somehow thought that they had expected him to say something else.

"Oh – okay," Dad was the first one to speak, "That's... I guess that's very nice for you to have a pet, Albus. And is he... I mean does he need any medical check-up or...?"

Albus was so surprised about that harmless reaction, he needed a second to progress what his dad had asked.

"Oh, er... I guess he's fine. Just, er... a basket or... something like that would be good? For transport and... where he can sleep in, maybe? Food is... I've got no idea. Wasn't that thought through, to be honest."

"I'm sure we can figure that out," Mum answered, "Why don't we go to Diagon Alley sometime next week? We wanted to go and buy all your books for next year anyway, and so we could also let him be checked at the vet's. Just in case he needs extra care or food in a different climate..."

Albus caught himself at thinking hard to find the catch behind their offer, and he felt bad that he distrusted his own parents so much.

In the end he nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Let's do that." He hesitated. "Do you want to meet him?"

"Sure," Mum replied gently and Dad nodded as well.

"So, should we go upstairs?"

"Yes, but I'd like to tell him first that you'll come. He's very shy."

"Oh, yes of course," they both agreed and so Albus went upstairs first to tell Cody that his parents wanted to meet him.

He could see that they both were as nervous as Cody, but he had allowed Cody to coil around his body and rest his head in his lap while he sat on his bed, so he at least was as calm as he got, and it was nice to see how much he trusted him.

"So that's... that's Cody. _Cody, these are my parents._ So… What do you say?"

"He seems to like you a lot," Mum was the first to react.

“Yeah, and it’s, er… a really pretty snake,” Dad commented.

Albus smiled a bit. “I think so too.”

It took Cody only a couple of days to get to know the rest of the family. While at the end of the week, Cody had already helped Lily find several things she had thought had gone missing for good and let her play with his tail while watching TV, his interactions with James were kept to a minimum after a bit of a startling ‘Hello’ at breakfast the first morning after Albus’s return.

Startling for James, that is, and it was almost amusing when Albus realised his tough Gryffindor brother was scared of his pet snake.

*

“Ready everyone?”

“Yes, Mum,” all three of them replied in unison and let Mum hand them the Floo Powder.

They were heading to Diagon Alley with their shopping lists for next school year – and with Cody, who had coiled himself around Albus’s body so only his head peaked out of his cloak from where he observed the many wizards and witches on the street suspiciously who were staring suspiciously back.

“Can’t – can’t you make him hide his head as well?” James asked, feeling clearly uncomfortable with that.

“I could, but I won’t,” Albus replied dryly.

“But… It’s not _normal_ to walk around with a snake around one’s shoulders. Not even for wizards.”

“You can pretend not to know me if that helps,” Albus offered.

“Come on,” Teddy chuckled and gave James a good punch to the shoulder. “I’ve got my hair turning from orange to turquoise, so nobody will notice the snake, okay?”

Teddy had volunteered to come with them and have an eye on his little cousins. Lily and he were perfectly fine, though.

“Mum, there’s the _Magical Menagerie_ ,” Lily chirped, “Wouldn’t it be best to buy the stuff for Cody first?”

“Oh, right, I was totally lost in thought, sorry, hun. Let’s see what Cody needs.”

The saleswoman was surprised to see a pet snake, but more on the shoulders of a boy like Albus than the snake itself.

“Of course, I can give him a quick check-up while you have a look around. There we’ve got baskets for transportation, and behind that pillar you find the more elaborate ones for at home.”

“Thank you,” Albus replied and hesitated a bit, but the witch seemed alright, so he told Cody that he shouldn’t worry. _That_ , on the other hand, got him a very odd look from the woman, but he decided to ignore it and held out his arm so that Cody could slide over to her.

“I’d like to watch you examine him though,” he added. “He’s very shy, I think it’s better like this.”

The woman was okay with that too, and so, while Mum and Lily were swooning over cute cats and Teddy was teasing James for being totally uncomfortable with the whole situation, Albus reassured Cody with some smiles and whispers that everything was alright while the witch performed a few spells and had a look at his fangs.

“Excellent. Everything’s alright,” she announced in the end and Cody was all too happy to come back to Albus.

“What… what about food?” Albus asked while patting Cody’s head. “He’s from Italy and used to provide it for himself, so…”

“Oh, I don’t think a British mouse tastes any different,” the witch replied. “You can go on a walk with him if you’ve got the access to a part of Muggle-free nature, or you can think about providing him with the food. We sell mice all sizes, live and frozen feeder – oh, but you should definitely make sure he has a bowl of water at home, large enough to fit his whole body.”

“Oh. Okay,” Albus made, and while he had no problem with feeding mice to Cody, he was sure his friend would like the idea of hunting them on his own much better. “I think I’ll take him for a walk. But I’d like to have a look at the baskets.”

The woman nodded. “Take your time.”

In the end, Mum paid for a water bowl, a comfy basket formed like an open shell for which Albus would gather some grass and leaves to make it more comfortable, and a small basket for travel. He had wanted to take just the simplest one, but then he thought Scorpius surely would like some pretty ornaments on it for Cody, so he went for this one.

“ _Are you okay_?” he asked his friend now and then during their shopping tour, but Cody had a marvellous time, even coming out for an opinion on the smell of ink and some lunch (“Godric, this is gross…” “It’s just nature, mate.” “Teddy’s basically right, but _this_ mouse I’ve just spent two Galleons on.” “I know. It’s just for today, Mum.” “Oh, look, he hasn’t even left its tail!” “Fuck, I might just throw up…” “Language, James!”).

After lunch, he asked Cody to stay inside of his basket because they wanted to go to Muggle London now, but his friend told him he would take a nap now anyway, an after-lunch nap.

So, they were just heading for the Leaky Cauldron when suddenly, there was the person Albus least wanted to meet.

“Hey, Rose!”

She and Hugo were also getting their stuff for next year, accompanied by their parents of course, and Uncle George. Albus refrained from taking part in the hug fest and only bumped fists with George because he insisted.

“I’ve heard you’re one of the really bad guys now. You’ve got my respect.”

Since there was clear sarcasm and amusement in his words about anyone who really believed that, Albus had to smile a bit. “Thanks.”

Suddenly, Rose stepped up between them, her chest puffed out and a dead-serious look on her face. “I’m here to apologise,” she formally declared, so loudly Albus was pretty sure she wanted all bystanders to witness her act of civility.

“It was wrong what I said to you in the Great Hall that morning, I’m sorry,” she apologised, sounding like she was reciting some facts from a book, and so Albus accepted her apology, also without really meaning it. Then, she was looking at him expectantly, and after a few seconds, Albus realised that she wanted an apology from him too, so he said one, for Scorpius’s sake, not meaning it either.

That was that, and Albus was glad when they separated again and headed for Muggle London.

Albus liked the modern brutality he could watch there. Here, things weren’t old but enchanting, they were shiny but demolished. Damaged. He liked that, it made them interesting.

Even the bin in front of the new fashion shopping centre had burn marks on it.

“We’ll just have a quick look, okay?” Mum promised while Lily was already tugging at her hand like an excited dog because she had seen a sparkly dress.

“Oh, Mum, _please_ , when is anything ever quick when you go in there?” James remarked, rightfully.

That’s when Teddy suggested: “Well, I could take the boys so you two can take your time and have fun.”

Albus could see his mum hesitate, but she knew she would seem ridiculous if she didn’t trust a 22-year old with two teenage boys.

“Okay. I ring you up when we’re done.”

“Excellent,” Teddy smiled.

“Where do we go?” James asked excitedly as if going out with Teddy always meant doing something illegal.

“I was planning on getting a new piercing. Might as well get it now.”

“Cool!”

Albus snorted and James threw him an angry look, his cheeks all red with embarrassment. Sweet.

The Muggle Tattoo & Piercing studio was in a shabby alley and so dark inside, Albus was wondering how on earth they were even seeing what or who they were piercing.

Teddy seemed to know the owner pretty well.

“I’ve brought my cousins. Can they watch?”

“Sure.”

When Teddy took off his shirt and lay down in one of the rooms in the back (here, the light was considerably brighter, aha) and James couldn’t stop gushing about everything, Albus took a seat with Cody’s basket in his lap and a booklet with pretty pictures of tattoos.

He absolutely _loved_ tattoos. He even thought the scar of the one on Draco’s arm looked pretty – no, that sounded wrong. Probably nothing about that kind of mark was ‘pretty’, but the fact that there was _something_ on his pale skin, like tendrils growing up his arm, or a snake coiling around it… _that_ was pretty.

Oh. And there was a booklet with pictures of piercings as well… He liked them too. They looked even good on Teddy. Black studs. That silver ring… _Oh_. You could also have them in your tongue?

“Don’t think about getting one,” James commented, suddenly standing right next to him. “Isn’t your boyfriend more of a coward? He might get scared of you if you show up with a piercing.”

Albus thought about snapping at his brother, but thought about Neville’s advice and stayed calm. “ _He’s_ not afraid of my snake,” he replied instead.

Which made James snigger so hard he seemed to nearly suffocate from it.

Albus only rolled his eyes. “You’re such a child.”

“Hey, I don’t take that from someone who’s two years younger.”

“Whatever.”

Albus looked back at the pictures. What _would_ Scorpius say if he came back to school with a piercing? Or a tattoo?

“Man, I want a tattoo too…,” James was back giving Teddy his attention.

“You know I really love you, mate, but I’m not gonna sign anything for you,” their cousin replied. “Wait till you’re of age.”

James sighed heavily, but then Bert was back and the procedure of getting that stud through Teddy’s body could begin. _Not_ at his nipples, as much as James tried to convince him to try it just for the sake of it (“I’m not a masochist!”), but at his bellybutton. Still: _ouch!_

When they left the studio, Teddy had one desired piercing more and Albus the plan to come back one day and get a tattoo of Cody. Since Mum hadn’t called yet, the three of them decided to go to McDonald’s while making up a plan what they told her where they had really been with Teddy and James outdoing each other with great, funny ideas.

“You’ve got no suggestions, mate?” Teddy asked him.

“I’m eating, thanks.”

“He’s thinking about his lover.”

“Shut up.”

“Tell me, brother,” James grinned, “You’ve had a room all to yourselves in Italy… Have you already done the chakalaka?”

Albus was close to screaming at his brother, but then he remembered Cody in his basket and stayed calm for his sake. He also remembered Draco and Neville and how beautiful they had looked together.

“It’s called sexual intercourse and it’s none of your business.”

Oh. Surprisingly, this had a massive effect on James, a hundred times more so than screaming at him.

Teddy must have noticed too because he sniggered quietly.

“Oh,” James came back to his senses, “of course. That’s what it’s called by the Malfoys. Forgot you’re part of the elite now. But I hope _you_ don’t forget that your boyfriend’s aunt killed dad’s – ”

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake – ”

“ _And_ ,” Teddy’s voice was the loudest, but when they looked at him, he only had a smile for them. “We must not forget that his boyfriend’s aunt is my granny.”

They were both quiet.

Until Albus just _had_ to clarify: “He’s _not_ my boyfriend.”

James winked. “Do you need any pick-up lines or dating advice from your brother to change that?”

“Salazar, _no_.”

*

In the evening, Albus made Cody’s bed ready with grass and leaves, and Lily presented him with a chewing toy she had bought for him: a pink mouse. He coiled around it to go to sleep and Albus asked him if he could take a picture of him like that to send to Scorpius.

He fetched Dad’s Muggle camera where you could retrieve the picture immediately and, after a bit of shaking, it appeared on the paper.

Pretty.

Then he sat down at his desk and wrote to Scorpius. He had never been good with words, but Scorpius wouldn’t mind his clumsiness, and so he only stopped at midnight and after nine pages.

He put them into the envelope together with the picture and went to send it off with their owl.

Only after having reassured himself that the attic was dark and nobody was looking, he pressed a kiss to the paper.


	15. New Feelings

Scorpius was waiting at the Hogsmeade train station as always on September 1st, only this year, he hardly couldn't wait for the train to arrive. He hadn't seen Albus for almost four weeks and this summer, it really had felt unbearably long.

Especially after their lovely summer holidays together... They had spent so much time together and even slept in one bed every night... That was what Scorpius missed the most. Albus's scent. His warmth.

It was different than when his dad or Neville held him; he had found out as much the last weeks.

Oh Merlin, and there was the train...!

As soon as he saw his friend, Scorpius jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Albus! Merlin, I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," Albus mumbled against his neck, and the arm he had put around him felt strong and – and possessive. Scorpius liked that.

"Oh!" he noticed as they parted again, why exactly Albus had only hugged him with one arm. Because in the other he was holding a basket, a really simple one, with pretty ornaments. "You've brought Cody with you?" he asked excitedly, but he could have already guessed that Albus wouldn't put him with his trunk.

"Yes, he's inside the basket," Albus replied with a smile, and Scorpius noticed that there were still some of the freckles visible that had appeared on his friend’s face during the summer and he had kind of fallen in love with.

He had barely come to admire them when Albus already started to address the basket with some wonderful, soft and calm Parseltongue.

Scorpius realised that he had missed that too. He got goosebumps because of it – or it was the cool wind at the station. And then the top of the basket moved, and when Albus lifted it, Cody looked out and greeted him with an excited hiss.

"Ooh, there you are! I've missed you, Cody!" He carefully stroked the beautiful snake, and because he couldn't help it, he pressed a kiss to its head.

"W-what? Is that a snake?"

"Potter has a snake now..."

"Godric, I hadn't thought those two could get any weirder..."

"You've got a really creepy brother there, James..."

"Shut up, you git, you're only jealous because you're so boring not even a Hufflepuff wants to date you!"

Scorpius was just losing his battle of holding Albus back because his friend could be so incredibly strong when he was angry – when they both stopped suddenly and looked at each other.

"Has... has your brother just defended you?"

Albus hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded. "Yes. Seems like it," he then answered and calmed down again.

Cody was agitated as well, hissing and moving about in his basket, so Albus tried to relax even more, as Scorpius noticed, probably to suggest their friend that everything was alright.

His answer in Parsel sounded as soft and calm as ever, and it seemed to be the right thing to make Cody calm down again.

Carefully, Albus placed the top back on the basket and looked up with a small smile.

"Sorry," he said, and it took Scorpius whole three seconds to understand what he meant.

"F-for what?" he couldn't believe it.

Albus shrugged. "For being such a weird friend, I guess..."

" _Albus Severus_ ," Scorpius replied immediately, "Don't be stupid. You know that I've missed Cody just as much as I've missed you. I would have considered it weird if you hadn't brought him along."

Albus snorted, and he sounded really cute when he did that. "So that's how weird it got already..."

Scorpius gave him a shove. "You dork," he said before hooking his arm into Albus's. "Let's go, or we'll be late for dinner."

The return-to-Hogwarts-feast was as delicious as ever, but Scorpius still couldn't wait until they could finally retreat to their dorm. He had missed Albus and Cody and wanted nothing more but to cuddle up with them in one of the comfortable fourposter beds.

After a Muffliato and closing the curtains, Albus and Cody were all his, and Scorpius didn't get his mind wrapped around how incredibly much he liked it when Albus spoke Parseltongue. He could listen to him forever, his belly all tingly and his heart beating so excitedly...

"Night-night...," he finally wished after what felt like an eternity – but he hadn't seen Albus in forever, so there was loads to catch up! But eventually, they had both gotten really tired and after all, they had a whole school year ahead of themselves. "Sleep well, Albus. You too, Cody," he added and placed a gentle kiss on Cody's head.

The snake hissed with closed eyes and looked really happy before settling down on the pillow over their heads.

When he looked back at Albus, his friend gave him a weird look.

"What?" Scorpius asked with an amused smile.

Albus didn't say anything, but he might – even though it was really hard to tell with so little light – have turned red.

"What's up?"

"N-nothing," Albus replied quickly and buried his face in his cushion. "I'm just really tired, that's all. Sleep well, Scorpius."

Scorpius hesitated, because he could always feel when Albus wasn't telling the truth, and he felt really bad when he kept something from him, but this time, he decided to accept it. Maybe they were just tired after all.

"You too."

*

Their first week was a bit of a challenge. Scorpius had observed it a few times already that after six weeks of holidays, it seemed that nothing was the same anymore. Everything could be questioned. Couples had broken up, strangers were suddenly friends...

And so, their new team captain had chosen a fifth-year boy to try out as their Seeker. Alone from the guy's built, Scorpius was really questioning that decision, but not aloud, of course. He never said much during practice; it was probably the only time in school when he shut up.

Instead, he let his actions speak, and so he was the one that had caught the Snitch three times out of three, no matter how many times that stupid troll had tried to knock him off his broom.

"I think Scorpius is still the right one for us," Jeanette was so nice as to tell their captain what they all thought "Berny is just too slow."

"Oi!"

"Yeah, well, it's the truth," Camilla agreed. "My gran's faster on a broom."

So that, at least, was settled.

And while Scorpius had been fighting back his place in the house team the first two weeks, Albus had done his best to live up to his reputation in the duelling club, because, apparently, you could also forget that you should not bully Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy over the summer.

"Serpensortia. Karl was shaking with fear," Albus beamed when they were on their way to Care of Magical Creatures. "We're only gonna learn it after Christmas, but I was bored the last weeks, so I practised it at home. Cody really liked it."

Scorpius chuckled. "I want to see McGonagall's face when for once, you'll be the one to master the spell at first try."

"Why? Because I usually suck at Transfiguration?" Albus asked, and he sounded downright cheeky, something Scorpius had really come to like.

Like that ongoing conversation they had had during their holidays about that crime novel...

_"You can sleep in my bed tonight if you have nightmares."_

That... that had been...

Scorpius batted his eyelashes. "Yes, you do, and you know it."

Albus snorted in a really cute fashion, and Scorpius was so distracted by that that he totally forgot to watch out and they nearly bumped into Karl and his friends who blocked the path into the woods to the Magical Creature's Reserve.

"That was cheating, Potter. You can't use that spell when we haven't learned it yet."

Scorpius was already dreading his friend to draw his wand and do something stupid, so he couldn't help but take his hand – which, of course, encouraged Karl's gang to whistle stupidly.

But Albus only took a step towards Karl so they were nose to nose – oh, and that's when Scorpius realised that Albus wasn't smaller than Karl anymore – and started to hiss. In Parseltongue.

Scorpius felt how something inside his belly started to tingle feverishly and then, out of the high grass to their right, Cody appeared and slithered towards Albus, who greeted his friend with more wonderful hissing noises.

Needless to say, Karl and his gang fled the scene, while Scorpius bent down to pat Cody too, who apparently had had a good meal.

He told Albus he would enjoy the sunny day some more before they could pick him up after classes.

This thing, with the tingling in his belly, did happen more often around Albus during the next weeks.

And not only when he spoke Parsel.

One morning, when Scorpius came into the showers, Albus was there as well. Usually, his friend woke up after him, but today he was already awake and shampooing his hair, his back turned towards him.

Scorpius could see his muscles move and – he bit his lip. Albus was handsome. There was no denying it. He had already noticed this fact at the pool, when he had come out of the water after Neville – and Scorpius thought Neville was handsome, but Albus... he was handsome on a totally different scale.

Watching him rub his hair and seeing how the soap splashed down his back, gave him that tingling again.

Quickly, he stepped underneath the shower in the cubicle next to him, but he made a habit of always sneaking a glance at his best friend when he saw him in the showers from then on.

*

One Saturday, when they were both loaded with homework, their beds cramped with books and parchments, and Scorpius was reading up something for his Potions essay, lying on his belly, his thoughts drifted off while watching Albus bite his quill and pet Cody, and he had to think of that one time when Albus had volunteered to rub his back with sunscreen Potion.

"Hey... Albus?" he asked as a thought suddenly struck him. He was a bit hesitant, but Albus was his friend, so why... why shouldn't he ask him?

"Hm?" Albus asked and looked up from his homework.

"I'm just... I was just thinking about our holiday and that I'd love to be back in Italy and... that my back really hurts because of all the homework so... would you maybe massage me a bit?" He bit his lip and smiled at the older one.

Albus looked dumbstruck for a second, so that Scorpius got a bit unsure if he had been too bold with his wish, but before he could blink, Albus was smiling sweetly, shyly, and came over to him until his knees nudged his ribs.

"Yeah, why not. Can't have you die of a stiff back, can we? You have to help me with my Charms homework later on after all."

Scorpius giggled and made himself more comfortable. "I will, I promise. Mh, thanks...," he then mumbled as Albus gently started to rub his back, "That feels very nice..."

"Yeah?" Albus asked, and Scorpius liked how quiet he sounded. Albus always spoke with a low voice (when he wasn't angry with someone), but right now it was almost a whisper, like when he spoke Parsel. "I don't even know what I'm doing."

"Then you've got a natural talent for it...," Scorpius replied just as quietly, "It feels wonderful..."

"Hm," Albus made, and Scorpius got the impression that he went even slower and more intense with his movements, so that he could feel the warmth of his hands through his shirt. "If I'm that good, maybe I should take payment then."

Scorpius laughed quietly. "Spoken like a true Slytherin...," he mumbled, "So what kind of payment are we talking about?"

He heard Albus hum, and to his surprise that sound made his belly tingle too.

"Let's say... Yes. That's a good one."

"What?"

"You will read to me tonight. Until I fall asleep."

Scorpius laughed. "Okay, I'll do that. What do you want me to read?"

"Doesn't matter," Albus said, and as he did, Scorpius thought he could feel his breath on his neck, giving him goosebumps. "Just like to hear your voice. It's so soothing."

"Alright...," Scorpius replied, "I'll think of something..."

He rolled onto his back and smiled up at Albus, who looked at him... fondly. Scorpius noticed once more how beautiful Albus's eyes were. So green... They always fascinated him, they always had, probably since he had opened that compartment door in the Hogwarts Express three years ago.

But suddenly, the look in them changed – wandering down his chest –

When Scorpius followed Albus's look, he saw his pendant with the tiny Snitch on his chest, glowing red.

"Oh."

Deep red.

"What...? Is it...broken?"

Albus shrugged. "Um, I... I don't know." He backed away a bit and somehow avoided looking at Scorpius. "Oh, look, I think it's turning normal again," he then said.

"Oh. Yes," Scorpius noticed. A light shade of red. Because Albus liked him, he could trust him, he was a friend.

Scorpius put the necklace into his shirt and rolled back onto his belly. He bit his lip. But then again, he didn't have any other friends to know what it usually felt like to have a friend...

*

Scorpius was most certainly sure that what he felt for Albus was something different after next Friday.

He was coming from a very rainy Quidditch practice, but being the Seeker, he was the lucky one that was finished early, and so he had the showers to himself as everyone else was still out there, practising complicated attacking and defensive moves.

When he entered their dorm, Albus was lying on his bed with Cody coiled up next to him, reading in their DADA book, apparently.

He practically stared at Scorpius, but to his bright "Hey there," he only replied with a short nod before quickly looking down in his book again. So, it must be important what he read, Scorpius decided, and went on, fetching new clothes and then going upstairs to the bathroom.

He was quick this time under the shower, because he wanted to be with Albus on his bed, know what he read, how his afternoon had been...

Albus looked so peaceful when he read. So in thought. So immersed.

A few minutes later, Scorpius was standing in front of the mirror, drying himself with his towel, while he had to think of that very strange, but very intense moment at the pool. They had read too. It had been so peaceful. So relaxing. And then, suddenly, Albus had been there, behind him, he had felt his warmth, he had bent down... to blow against his neck, and Scorpius had gotten goosebumps literally everywhere.

He grazed the spot on his neck with his fingertips and the goosebumps were back. Together with that tingling in his belly.

That tingling that usually was accompanied by a slight twitching of his penis. Scorpius had noticed that before, but never given it much thought. Now he could watch himself in the mirror and somehow, his hand found its way downwards to cup himself.

Scorpius whimpered quietly.

It always felt good when he touched himself there, but he knew that, only when left alone, the stiffness went away quickly.

But somehow, it was difficult to let go today, and it was more than difficult _not_ to think about Albus and about that one time at the pool...

Or about his hands on his back when he had massaged him.

Or about his voice when he spoke Parsel – _Merlin...!_

Scorpius noticed with shock that he was making small sounds that sounded incredibly rude and loud in the empty bathroom.

It was not really a decision he made with his head when he quickly stepped underneath the shower again, turned on the hot water and started to rub his more and more hardening penis.

But Salazar, it felt so _good_ and he... he just couldn't stop thinking about Albus right now. He didn't _want_ to. He wanted to think about his beautiful green eyes, his smile, his smell, his slender body, his strong hands, his Parsel-whispers...

"N-ngh...!"

Stars were dancing in front of his closed eyes and it took Scorpius a moment to control his breath and his shaking knees.

He bit his lip as he realised in shock that it hadn't taken him more than probably thirty seconds to ejaculate to the thought of Albus.

That was not what friends did. Nope.

Needless to say, he blushed fiercely when he came down moments later and Albus greeted him with a small smile and a: "You took long."

It should have been confusing probably, but for Scorpius, it was perfectly clear: He was in love with Albus like his Daddy was in love with Neville.

Confusing was only what happened around it.


	16. Heartache

It should have been confusing probably, but for Scorpius, it was perfectly clear: He was in love with Albus like his Daddy was in love with Neville.

Confusing was only, what happened around it. There was this big, omnipresent question "Does Albus feel the same?" Scorpius just didn't know how to get an answer to.

And the dance lessons.

On Monday, the Headmistress herself assembled all fourth years in the biggest classroom and happily explained to them that she would be their dance teacher for the next four weeks until Christmas.

It was not that Scorpius did not like dancing – he loved it actually, and since he had gotten lessons when he was smaller, he already knew a lot. It was the thought of having to dance with a girl that made him really uneasy. He just... he just wanted to dance with Albus, like they had done when they had been in Italy.

But McGonagall had other plans: She had girls and boys lining up in front of each other and then take each other's hands.

There was a lot of giggling and mumbling – and whining and shoving, in some cases. The two girls in front of Scorpius nearly killed each other, because both of them wanted to dance with him and not with Albus.

"He's weird!”

“No, I don't want to!"

"He's not weird, so pull yourself together!" Scorpius couldn't stop himself from hissing at them.

Even Albus looked surprised at his outburst, but Scorpius just couldn't help it. It was a shame, they didn't even appreciate dancing with Albus, and he, who would have loved to do nothing but that, wasn't allowed to...

At the end of the lesson, he felt really moody and disappointed. It wasn't that dancing with the girl hadn't worked out, but it didn't feel good at all and when he thought about that he had to spend the whole evening of the Yule ball without Albus to dance with, he got really sad.

"What's up?" Albus asked once they had retreated to their dorm after dinner. "I... I thought you liked dancing."

Scorpius shrugged, absentmindedly stroking Cody's long body. "I like dancing with you, not with a girl I don't even really know." That's not what he said. That's what he thought, what he wanted to say, but... Boys didn't dance with each other, not even best friends, at least not at a social event. Albus would totally see through this and get right away that he was in love with him like crazy.

Not good. Albus didn't even like hugging his dad or kissing his mum. He was touchy-feely with him, but they had spoken about that sex-related stuff last year, hadn't they? And Albus had told him how sick he got when only thinking about it.

Oh, Merlin – He probably would throw up if Scorpius told him what he had done under that shower – twice by now.

"It's just a bit boring when you already know how to do it." So that's what he said instead.

"Ah...," Albus made and for a moment, it seemed like he wanted to add something else, but he let it pass.

Scorpius sighed and buried his face in the pillow, drawing Cody close. He didn't like not talking to Albus about what was on his mind. Usually, they shared everything. But he didn't really know how to handle this situation and he didn't want to lose Albus as a friend. Maybe he... maybe he should just talk to Daddy about it, he realised as he stroked Cody. Maybe he could give him some advice.

*

The next weekend, Scorpius made his way down to Hogsmeade, alone. It was hard to tell Albus why. In the end, he told him that his dad had asked him about this meeting, because he had something to discuss with him.

In that moment, Scorpius realised that he had never lied to Albus before, and that doing it now felt disgusting.

What hurt even more was that Albus didn't even seem interested. Maybe he was relieved to be rid of him for a few hours. Maybe Scorpius had overdone it with his need to be close to him.

Wonderful...

"Hello, darling, what a pleasant surprise," his daddy greeted him with a hug and a smile once he had reached their flat, "It's wonderful to see you again. Come on in. Would you like some tea? I was just about to make some..."

"Oh, yes, thank you," Scorpius replied with a small smile and followed his dad to the living room. "I could use some tea."

"And why's that?" his dad asked gently as he poured him a generous cup.

Scorpius bit his lip. "Can we sit down?"

"Yes, of course," Daddy replied and even though Scorpius could hear that he didn't want to let it show, he sounded worried, "What's the matter, darling?"

"I... I'm confused," Scorpius began carefully after he had a sip of his tea. "I mean, not about the thing itself – I know perfectly well what I'm feeling, I'm just... confused about the consequences... Daddy, I," he said before he could get cold feet, "I realised that I'm in love with Albus."

Fortunately, his dad smiled gently at him. "That's wonderful, Scorpius," he replied, "You always seem so happy when you are around Albus. Actually, I... I've been expecting something like this for quite some time now. So, why are you afraid, darling? Which consequences are you talking about?"

Scorpius bit his lip. "Isn't that obvious?" he asked and could feel how the sadness came back to him. "I... I might lose him as a friend. Forever. No, don't say you don't believe that, you haven't heard how... how Albus talked about... closeness a-and... well, sex. He was disgusted by it. He... maybe he'll be disgusted by me..."

"I hardly think so, darling," his dad replied nevertheless, "What was it exactly you talked about with regard to that topic? As far as I can see, Albus likes to be close to you. And you... well you don't have to have sex right away, do you? At your age, I think you should take things slow anyway. But I don't think Albus could ever be disgusted by you, Scorpius."

"Of course I wouldn't – I'm just thinking ahead, Daddy. I-I don't quite remember what it was we talked about, but he said... he said that it all sounded so disgusting to him what we were learning at school. And maybe he..." He hesitated, because saying out loud what he had observed last week made it even more terrible... "Maybe he doesn't even want to be that close to me anymore... Maybe – dancing with girls made him see that... that he'd much rather have a girlfriend t-to cuddle up to i-instead o-of...m-me..."

Of course, he didn't make it through without starting to cry...

"Oh, come here, darling," his daddy replied immediately, and Scorpius was glad that he hugged him tightly. "I can understand that you're worried, but as far as I can see, you're really in love with Albus. And sometimes being in love also means taking risks. I think you should tell him how you feel or otherwise, you'll regret it. Just... just tell him, very honestly, what you feel. If you really think that he doesn't want to be close to you physically, then just take it slow. As I've already said, you're both still so young and I don't think there's any need to rush these things. But that doesn't mean that you can't talk to him. It's Albus after all, isn't it? He's been your friend for such a long time, Scorpius. And I'm sure that, even if he doesn't return your feelings, he will continue to be your friend. Although, from the way he behaves around you and... looked at you during the holidays, I highly doubt that he _doesn't_ feel the same, darling."

Scorpius wiped his eyes and looked up, because he had to see if his daddy was serious. "Really?" he asked and couldn't quite believe it. Albus... had looked at him like...? "Y-you're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

"You know I wouldn't, darling, " his daddy replied and gently squeezed his shoulders, "I really mean it."

Scorpius sighed shakily, because he wished so much his dad was right – and threw his arms around him to be held close for a bit longer.

*

With new strength, Scorpius returned to the castle in the evening. He was a bit nervous during dinner, but afterwards, he gave himself a pep talk in front of the mirror in the bathroom before he went downstairs and, changed into his pyjamas, sat down on his bed.

"Albus?" he asked with a hesitant smile, because his friend was already under his own blanket.

"Mh?"

"Are... aren't you coming over?"

"Oh, I'm... I'm nearly asleep, I studied so much today, it was exhausting...," Albus replied quietly, "Talk to you in the morning, okay?"

Scorpius felt very clearly the pang in his chest. "Oh. Okay. Night," he managed to squeak before his voice broke and he quickly lay down so no one would notice he was starting to cry.

With a swish of his wand he let down the curtains around his bed and then hid under his blanket.

S-so... so it was true – Albus _didn't_ want to spend time with him anymore... Scorpius could barely bite back a sob, then he reached for his wand again and cast a Muffliato. M-merlin, it... it h-hurt so much to think that Albus didn't want to be so close to him anymore...

Scorpius _needed_ that. He lived for Albus's hugs, his gentle touches, the entwining of their fingers... He could live without kisses, but without the hugs...?

He was so naïve to think this wouldn't change when they grew up. Somehow, he had thought nothing would change, and they would still sneak into each other's beds when they were adults. Oh, what an idiot he was... Of course, now Albus had experienced what it was like to hold a girl, he didn't want Scorpius anymore.

It hurt unbearably in his chest when he thought about Albus going to the Yule Ball with a girl he – he maybe fell in love with. And then he would hug her, and kiss her a-and...

He was weeping openly now when he could suddenly hear something moving on his bed. He jumped and for a moment, he was really scared, but then he realised it was Cody who had come to visit him.

"H-hey there...," he whispered and held out a hand for the snake, "You've scared me, Cody... c-come here, hm?"

Cody was looking almost questioningly at him, then he slithered close, coiling his body around his chest and resting his head on Scorpius's shoulder.

Suddenly, he started to move his tongue against his wet cheeks, and Scorpius couldn't help but to chuckle a bit.

"Thanks for coming over," he replied and gently patted Cody's head. "I... I feel so lonely without Albus..."

Cody rubbed his head against his hand and against his cheek, and even though Scorpius couldn't stop crying at once, he somehow managed to calm down a bit a few minutes later with the snake soothing him enough to fall asleep eventually.

*

Scorpius still felt exceptionally sad and lost the next day, but at least the lessons took his mind off things, if only a little bit. He had not tried to talk to Albus again since he didn't want to make things even worse...

Which was why he was surprised that his friend approached him after dinner.

"Hey...," he said and carefully sat down on his bed, "Can I... Can we talk?"

Scorpius took a shaky breath, because he just realised again how much he must love Albus when only sitting here with him, looking into his eyes, hearing his soft voice made him that happy...

He nodded carefully. "Er, yes. Yes, of course." He tried a smile, but it wasn't his usually beaming one. Instead he shuffled over a bit to make room for his friend.

"Cody has... he's told me that you cried yesterday," Albus said eventually, "and I... well I was worried. Is everything alright? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Oh." Scorpius brushed his cheek with his fingers as if there were still some tears and noticed that his hands were suddenly shaking.

He cleared his throat. "I... Well, I thought you w-wanted to be alone a-and..."

Albus gently put a hand on his arm as they could hear some of their fellow students talking in the hallway that lead to the dorms. "Should we get some privacy?" he suggested and closed the curtains around them before putting up a Muffliato.

"I'm sorry about yesterday...," he then said carefully, "I... I was really tired. I didn't know that you were sad. But you could have said something, you know? No matter how tired I was, I... I don't want you to be on your own when you don't feel well..."

Scorpius nodded and this time, his small smile was sincere. Still small, but sincere. "Thank you. I... Actually, I wanted to tell you something, Albus." He bit his lip when looking up into his eyes. "P-promise me you won't be mad with me, okay?"

"Yeah, I promise," Albus replied and nodded without hesitation, "What is it?"

Scorpius dug his fingers into his blanket. He tried to straighten his back and think about what his daddy had told him. He could do this.

"I... I wanted to tell you that... I love you. I-I've realised it just now, even though the feeling's probably always been there, it's just that after our holidays – a-and when you speak Parseltongue – You may say that's no problem, b-but I know now that it's not just – I mean I really, really love you like Daddy loves Neville a-and if that disgusts you I will, of course, not act on it and never mention it again, but please, Albus, please, don't leave me as a friend, okay?"

He looked at Albus with big pleading eyes and, apparently, it took his friend a moment until he had properly understood what he had said. When he did, he stared at him in complete surprise.

"You... you _love_ me?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yes," he said very quietly. "A-are you mad now?"

Albus nearly choked and for a moment, Scorpius thought his friend would get really angry, but then he shook his head with a laugh that sounded almost... relieved?

"No. No, Scorpius, why would I be mad? Merlin, I'm so glad you told me, because I... well, I..." He bit his lip, frantically trying to find the right words, fumbling with his fingers… And then he simply leaned in and... and carefully pressed his lips to Scorpius's.

 _Oh_ , Merlin's beard and Salazar's bones, it felt like Scorpius's heart jumped out of his chest and someone had started sundae firecrackers in his belly!

When Albus hesitantly let go of him again and blinked at him with an insecure: "N-not good?", all Scorpius could do was throw himself into his arms so they fell onto the mattress together, and hold him as close as he could.

"Oh Albus! Albus! This is – Christmas and birthday and Halloween together! I can't believe it – you love me, you really love me?"

"Yes," Albus breathed with a beautiful smile, "I love you Scorpius. I just... I would have never thought you felt the same."

"B-but why not?" Scorpius laughed and didn't even think about letting Albus go. "I'm always incredibly clingy, am I not?"

"Yeah," Albus laughed as well, "But you've always been like that. Also as a friend, I mean. I didn't realise your feelings had changed as well... and I was afraid that... that maybe you wouldn't like me anymore if I told you. I'm glad you were braver than I was."

"Oh, I..." Scorpius was a bit embarrassed now. "I had already given up, kind of, to be honest. 'Cause you were... so distanced the last weeks a-and... Why didn't you want to come over yesterday? You know you could've fallen asleep in my bed. We've done that loads of times, haven't we?"

"Yes, we have. But lately... I was afraid you would find out about my feelings if I came closer. Your... your necklace had nearly given me away last time...," he whispered and gently took the pendant with the tiny Snitch into his hands. "I don't think it's broken...," he said with a smile as the ball turned a deep red.

"Ooh," Scorpius made, "So that means... I _see_..." He giggled a bit. Merlin, this was unbelievable how light-hearted he felt now that he knew. "Then do I... do I get another kiss?" He simply _had_ to ask.

Albus smiled and came a bit closer again. "Yes, of course," he breathed and then his soft lips were on Scorpius's again and... M-merlin, it felt so _wonderful_...!

"So...," Scorpius asked quietly, "You... you don't think this is... disgusting...?"

Albus smiled shyly and shook his head. "No. Not at all. Actually, I... When I've seen your dad and Neville kiss, it was the first time I thought it didn’t look disgusting. A-and so I thought about it... kissing you, and... I absolutely like it," he ended with a bright smile.

Scorpius smiled and now he really felt relieved. "That's good. Because I wouldn't want you to do something you don't like...," he whispered and gently caressed Albus's hair.

Albus huffed. "Well, I am. Every bloody Monday and Wednesday afternoon..."

Scorpius needed a moment to understand what Albus meant, but then it hit him. "Oh, you mean dance practice? And I was so worried you would fall in love with one of the girls and forget about me!"

 _Now_ Albus looked disgusted. "I could _never_! Scorpius! Eww...!" He attacked him with a tickling manoeuvre as punishment, and Scorpius laughed until he cried.

Needless to say: Albus stayed tonight and they fell asleep arm in arm, Cody the happy one sandwiched between them.

*

The dance lessons were bearable, from now on. It was only this week anyway, and after everyone was gone, Scorpius asked Professor McGonagall nicely if he could borrow the record player and the room for an hour longer to give Albus private tuition.

"Hm. I'm afraid even that won't help, but I wish you luck, Mr Malfoy."

"She has no idea," Scorpius grinned as he held out his hands towards Albus when the headmistress had left, "I'm a great teacher. And you've done such a good job in Italy..."

"Yeah, I... I'm much better at following your lead than having to do that on my own," Albus grinned sheepishly.

"Do you know that you look absolutely adorable when you look shy like that?" Scorpius grinned when he took Albus's hands.

Albus laughed but sounded a bit embarrassed. "I didn't think I could look adorable to anybody. But there we go," he said and entwined his fingers with Scorpius's.

Scorpius bit his lip to not grin too stupidly. "Ooh, you didn't? Maybe I shall point it out for you when I'll witness that miraculous spectacle again."

Albus laughed quietly. "Yeah, you can do that. But first we'll have a go at dancing."

Scorpius nodded. "Let's go."

It was wonderful. Dancing with Albus was brilliant, even if he didn't get all his steps right, but that didn't matter. Not to Scorpius.

"You're doing great," he whispered when the music had stopped, and crossed his arms behind Albus's neck.

Albus sighed and smiled lovingly at Scorpius. "It's easy with you."

Scorpius halted and couldn't help it, but his smile vanished slightly.

"I don't want to watch you dance with a girl at the ball..."

"Me neither," Albus replied, "And I mean they... they can't force us, right?"

Scorpius bit his lip. "No, I guess they can't, but... I'd totally love to go with you."

"I'd love that too," Albus replied, "So... why don't we just do that?" he suggested hesitantly but with an honest smile, "Go together I mean."

Scorpius's smile came back and turned into a full beam. He _really_ had wanted to stop with squealing since his voice had gotten lower, but he just couldn't help it right now.

"Are you asking me out to the ball, Albus Severus?" he asked nervously.

Albus laughed gently. "I guess I am. So, would you like to come to the ball with me, Scorpius Hyperion?"

Scorpius gave Albus a slap to the chest. "You _know_ that I hate that name... Al."

Albus rolled his eyes at the nickname _he_ didn't like.

"Ask me properly. You know that I'm a terrible romantic, don't you? If not, it's too late anyway. Come on!"

Albus snorted, but then he – Oh, Merlin, he went down on one knee in front of him...!

"Scorpius Malfoy, you know I love you, so do you want to be my boyfriend and go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Now Scorpius really couldn't help but squeal – and then he flung himself in Albus's arms, which made them topple over onto the floor. " _Yes_ ," he then replied, "Of course I want to be your boyfriend. And I want to go to the ball with you!"

Albus grinned happily, even though the landing on the stone floor must have hurt a bit, but he took it like a real man and rolled himself on top of Scorpius to give him a kiss to the lips – and the cheeks, and the temples, and the ear – _o-oh_ , and the neck...

Scorpius gasped, but then there was a sudden harrumph and Albus quickly scrambled to his feet so Scorpius could see that Professor McGonagall was back, now throwing him a very sceptical look.

Scorpius knew he blushed deep red.

"E-er, we – You were _so_ right, Professor," he managed to say and got up quickly too. "Albus really can't put one foot in front of the other without falling."

"Hm," McGonagall made, "And I suppose he fell upon you."

"That's exactly what happened," Albus nodded, even though he couldn't help but grin.

Scorpius burst out into laughter first.

He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a hint of an amused twinkle in McGonagall's eyes before she went over to fetch her record player.

"I'd advise you both to go back to your dormitory."

"Yes, of course, Professor," Scorpius quickly nodded, "Thanks for the record player, Professor."


	17. Pretty Dresses

Neville chuckled. "It was about time, wasn't it?"

Draco sighed, but he smiled as well. "I guess it was. I'm glad it... it worked out like that. Scorpius was really upset that one weekend when he told me he thought Albus would not return his feelings..."

Neville hummed, and Draco closed his eyes with a smile when his fiancé began to casually massage his neck with one hand.

"Would've been a shame if they had wasted that opportunity to dance together at the ball. For me, it was a real revelation back then."

Draco chuckled. "Was it?" he replied and looked curiously at Neville, "You've never told me if there was a specific boy who had caught your interest. I've already told you that I noticed how handsome you were."

Neville grinned sheepishly. "I didn't mean my sexuality, per se," he explained, "I meant my confidence."

"Oh."

"My first crush I only had a year later. And I'm not going to tell you who it was, because it would just upset you for no reason at all."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "And why would it upset me?" he asked, "Surely, you must have had a lot of crushes before we met again three years ago. So, who was the first?"

Neville really looked like he considered not telling him for a moment, then he finally answered: "Harry."

Draco snorted. "Of course. Saint Potter. And why would that upset me? Clearly, your taste has improved over the years..."

"I thought it would upset you because of... that mistletoe incident. And I'm sorry, darling," Neville continued with a much too self-confident smile while grabbing him by the hip and pulling him onto his lap, because he could just bloody do that... "But I'm not exactly a masochist, so fancying someone who I'm afraid of was not an option for me. Oh, but I think I had actually one wet dream about you in sixth year when my confidence was high enough. I might have even snogged you in the hallway if there hadn't been this stupid war coming up."

Draco snorted. "I've already told you I would have hexed your arse off..." He let his forehead sink against Neville's and closed his eyes for a moment. "It's funny, isn't it? How the one person my son falls madly in love with is the son of my... _former_ archenemy. As if... some wrongs were just meant to be put right."

"Mmh, yes," Neville made and stroked Draco's hair. "To put some more wrongs right I wanted to ask you something..."

Draco opened his eyes and looked at Neville expectantly.

"Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me, Draco Malfoy?"

Draco chuckled. "I'd love to, Neville," he then replied honestly, "Can you bring a date as a teacher?"

Neville raised one eyebrow. "I might have mentioned the possibility of getting too drunk to fulfil my teacher's duties when I can't bring you along."

"Blackmailing your boss, are you?" Draco replied and laughed, "Are some of my Slytherin virtues finally rubbing off on you?"

"If blackmailing is a virtue, then probably yes," Neville laughed.

In this instance, they heard footsteps on the stairs, and Draco made it just down from Neville's lap, then Scorpius already burst into the flat.

"Daddy! Oh, Neville! You're here? You could have told me and we could've come together." He greeted both of them with a hug.

"Yeah, sorry,” Neville apologised, “I had to do some work in the greenhouses and didn't expect to finish that early."

"That's okay," Scorpius replied with a smile, "But you'll come shopping with us, won't you? I'm so looking forward to the Yule ball, I'm now _officially_ going with Albus! Oh…," he then seemed to realise, "I – I don't know if Daddy has already told you, but I'm... Albus is my boyfriend."

Neville grinned, probably about how proud and happy their son looked. "I might have heard of it, yeah, and I have to congratulate you on your good taste," he chuckled and pinched Scorpius's side.

Scorpius giggled. "Thanks. I think I got that from my dad," he added with a smirk.

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Well, shall we go then?" he asked and got up. "Marcello has come from Italy to his London shop just for us, so let's not be late, hm?"

"No, of course not," Scorpius grinned broadly, "Let's go, I can't wait to meet him."

*

Marcello was an over the top Italian fashion designer from Milan who had fitted Draco on several occasions since his childhood, especially when his father had wanted him to wear 'something outrageous' – in the most positive, aristocratic way of course.

Well, outrageous was something Marcello was unmatched in. And his son embraced it.

"Signori Malfoy! Welcome! - Befana mia! Your son! Oh, what a beautiful, beautiful boy...!"

"Good afternoon, Marcello," Draco greeted the designer with a crooked grin and shook hands with him. "May I introduce you to my fiancé? This is Neville Longbottom. And as you've guessed correctly, this is our son Scorpius."

"Ciao, Marcello," Scorpius extended a hand with his sweet smile, and Marcello was charmed on the spot.

"The outfit would be for the Yule Ball at our school, a traditional ball on the 25th of December. We're all supposed to wear black robes, but we've come to you to make it something special and unique."

Marcello beamed. "Wonderful – I'll give my best to create an outfit that fits you and your taste, Signor Scorpius. Do you already have any concrete ideas?"

"Er...," Scorpius began, now a bit insecure, but Draco gave him an encouraging nod, because he knew how much thought his son had already given the design.

Scorpius nodded and gave Marcello an answer. "My, er, boyfriend will definitely wear something with green accessories, so I thought of lilac accessories and silver linings...maybe?"

"You might be a fashion designer yourself, young man," Marcello replied enthusiastically, "I'll get to work straight away. Let me take your measurements..."

Scorpius extended his arms and, with a flick of his wand, Marcello sent the tape measure to work.

In the meantime, Neville and Draco sat down on one of the comfortable sofas, and Marcello's assistant brought them something to drink and to eat.

Marcello let Scorpius choose from a variety of fabrics next, and when the designer also wanted to know Draco's opinion, he only smiled.

"I'm going to be the one who pays, but my son has a far better judgement than myself in this. You will hear me cough when something is absolutely not to my liking. Otherwise, go on you two."

Scorpius giggled at that and went on choosing the fabric with the Italian.

"So," Draco heard Neville grin next to him, " _Italian designer_ , huh?"

"Yes, of course," he replied without giving away his amusement about that question, "What did you expect? A Malfoy does not wear prêt-à-porter to the Yule Ball."

"Ah," Neville replied and Draco was quite sure that he had never heard of prêt-à-porter before. "So," he then continued with a grin before Draco could go into more detail, "I expect a Malfoy does not wear... prêt-à-porter to his wedding either?"

Draco had to grin now. "Of course not," he answered. "And I'm not letting you get away with it either, darling. But that's not why we're here. Yet," he added with a meaningful glance. "We're here to get robes for the Yule Ball, and since I've deemed the attire already in your possession as _just_ good enough..." He straightened Neville's shirt collar at that. "Marcello will only have to deal with me after our son is finished."

Neville snorted. "Of course he does," he replied, "As if you didn't have enough clothes already." He rolled his eyes, but Draco could both see and hear in his voice that he didn't really mean it.

"Oh, as if you paid attention," he liked to banter a bit longer, putting his arm now on the backrest of the sofa behind Neville so he could caress his hair. "Tell me, what is your favourite piece of clothes I possess?"

Neville laughed and leant into the touch immediately. "There's loads. But I really like the silky green T-shirt you wore a lot when we were in Italy. But generally, I have to say...," he lowered his voice a bit and came closer with his head, "I like you best naked. If you really care to know, my love."

Draco immediately felt how it turned him on to hear his fiancé say something like that. He had to grin. "You Gryffindor brutes...," he whispered, one finger trailing along Neville's hairline, so he was sure to give him goosebumps.

Then he leant away again, crossing his legs and focussing on Scorpius and Marcello, who had already arrived at the buttons.

In the end, Scorpius looked absolutely stunning in his black dress robes with violet and silver accessories, and Draco couldn't help but feel proud of him.

"You look wonderful, darling," Draco told him as he circled him to get a proper view of the robes, "Absolutely wonderful. What do you think yourself?"

"Oh, Daddy, I love it!" Scorpius replied enthusiastically, "It's so beautiful, the fabric, the buttons..."

"I'm glad you like it," Draco grinned and gently stroked his hair. "We'll let Marcello put it in our bag."

"Of course, Signori."

When Scorpius was changed, he flopped down on the sofa next to Neville and let out a sigh.

"Exhausted?" Neville asked with a grin, while Draco got up now to be dressed.

"Yeah, a bit, but I really love the dress robes. Did you like them too?"

"Yeah, very. You'll be the most beautiful gentleman on the dancefloor."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I can hear you, you know?"

"Of the students of course," Neville added with a smile, "Teachers' dates fall under a different category."

Draco shook his head.

While Marcello went through the same procedure with him as he had with Scorpius, Draco couldn't help but listen what his two loved ones had to tell each other in the meantime.

"So, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Albus and me earlier. I meant to, but then things went so fast and... I hope you're not mad."

Neville chuckled softly. "Of course I'm not mad. I kind of knew you two were meant for each other, but I was also aware that sometimes, things need their time."

Scorpius smiled happily at that. "Yes, you're right. I suppose they do. But I'm really glad everything went well in the end. And that we actually go to the ball together. It would have felt so wrong to go with someone else!"

"Yeah, but... has Albus gotten better at dancing since Italy?" Neville asked sceptically, something Draco had wanted to ask their son too, but then had refrained from, because he thought it might sound too superficial – but even though it was most important that Scorpius had fun that evening, it wouldn't hurt if his partner didn't make a fool of them...

Scorpius giggled. "Yeah, he has. I mean he still misses some steps sometimes, but it's not that bad. As long as I lead, he's fine."

"Oh, that's good. Tell me if you need more lessons, you two, okay? And, er..." Neville continued, lowering his voice. "Tell me if my godson is making any trouble, yeah? Wouldn't want that."

At that, Draco couldn't help but listen up as well, but his son only screwed up his face in confusion. "Albus would never cause me any trouble."

"No, I don't mean – I'm sure he's not. Just, if you want to talk to me about anything, you can come to me, alright?"

At that, Scorpius smiled at Neville. "Alright. Thanks, Neville, I'm sure I'll come back to you. Oh, now look at Daddy!"

'Daddy' was wearing his dress robes, silver in colour, with white accessories, and was quite satisfied with the outcome.

With a neutral expression he turned around to Neville and Scorpius. "What do you say?"

"You look so beautiful, Daddy!" Scorpius immediately replied.

Neville, apparently, needed a moment before he could answer, but when he did, Draco could clearly hear how much he liked his attire as well. "You look stunning, love. Absolutely _gorgeous_."

Draco smiled smugly, because the tone of Neville's voice told him, he wouldn't be going home alone after the ball... "Worthy to be your Yule Ball date?" he couldn't help but add questioningly.

Neville snorted. "I don't know if I'm worthy to be _yours_." He actually got up at that and walked around him once to have a look at the dress robes from all sides. When their eyes met again, he smiled. "You look like an angel."

Draco was so taken aback by that comment that he snorted two seconds too late to make it sound real. "You must be lacking any sense of judgement," he managed to reply, less steadily than he had wished.

But Neville only shook his head. "I don't think so. You're beautiful." He pressed a kiss to Draco's temple and smiled.

Draco closed his eyes to savour the moment.

"Nice work there, Marcello," Neville thanked the designer when letting go. "With both of them."

"Grazie," Marcello beamed and bowed.

So that was that, and the Yule Ball could come.


	18. The Yule Ball I

Albus was so nervous he thought he had to puke.

It was the 25th of December and he was getting dressed for the Yule Ball. He would wear black dress robes with green accessories – his tie, for example, was of green silk – something he usually would have thought to be miles over the top, but he was going as Scorpius Malfoy's partner, and that's why he had wanted to make a good impression. He didn’t want to let Scorpius down, who, of course, would wear the fanciest robes of the fanciest.

His mum had understood, and so they had spent a bit more money than had been planned.

No. He hadn't told his family about Scorpius and him the weekend they had bought his robes. Of course not!

He had written them a letter beforehand. That was the most he felt ready to do, but he didn't want them to hear from others (Rose) that his date to the ball was his best friend.

To his surprise, it had been a much less agitated atmosphere as when they had found out that he could speak Parsel. Even James had shut up eventually. (After Albus had told him to simply try it for himself if he was so interested in gay sex.)

So, everything was fine, wasn't it?

Albus looked at himself in the mirror and bit his lip. He was just so damn nervous if Scorpius would be pleased with him...

He took one last deep breath as he heard his boyfriend on the staircase from the bathrooms, and then the blond entered their dorm in the most beautiful dress robes Albus had ever seen. They looked incredibly expensive and the lilac accessories just matched his eyes perfectly.

"W-wow," he just couldn't help but breathe, "You look..."

Scorpius giggled and came over to him to take his hands. He was a bit taller than himself, and judging by the height of his own parents, Albus wasn’t going to catch up anymore.

"Yeah?" the blond wanted to know and bit his lips, "Well you look incredibly handsome yourself. I love the colour, green suits you so well..."

"Er, thank you," Albus replied shyly and could have sworn Scorpius had also done something with his hair. It looked... perfect. Speaking of which... "I, er, tried to tame my hair, but... sorry."

"Why would you apologise?" Scorpius asked and really looked confused for a moment, "You know I _love_ your hair." He gently stroked through it with one hand. "The way it is. Don't ever try to tame it."

Albus chuckled, a bit relieved now. "Okay."

"Shall we go then?" Scorpius asked, and Albus nodded.

They had already taken two steps, when he bumped into his boyfriend who had suddenly stopped.

"Oh. I forgot," he said, and then his lips were already on Albus's, so soft and warm like the first time he had been bold enough to touch them with his. He could smell the scent of lilac and lemon that always lingered around his boyfriend and which he loved so much.

Then, the nice moment was already over, but the lovestruck smile stayed on Albus's lips as they went up to the Great Hall.

Of course, Albus was aware that people were staring at them as they entered the Great Hall holding hands. But he didn't really care. People had always stared at him for some reason – and today he could finally be proud of their stares. Because he was with Scorpius, the most intelligent, kind and beautiful person he knew.

"Ooh, I love the decorations," he heard his boyfriend whisper and at that, Albus could finally tear his eyes away from his boyfriend for a moment to look around: The Great Hall was shimmering like a diamond because of all of the lights and spells that had been put up.

"Yeah. Impressive," he replied.

"Oh, look who's there!" Scorpius tugged at his arm, and when Albus looked in the direction he pointed, he could see Neville and Draco, drinks in hand and... flirting. As always. He wanted to be like that with Scorpius too, now that they were a couple. He just had to stop being so shy in public.

"Wanna go over and say hi?" Scorpius asked and already pulled him in their direction.

Draco saw them first, greeting his son with a warm smile and a hug, and Albus nearly missed Neville's hello, because he was so busy staring at those two really, _really_ supernaturally beautiful creatures.

"Pretty, huh?" Neville chuckled, but before Albus could reply anything, Draco had turned around and looked at him with an expression of genuine surprise.

"Oh... I like what I see. _Albus_ ," he said, with a grin now, and came over to shake hands. "What a handsome man. I couldn't have chosen a better attire for you."

"Oh – thanks," Albus replied and couldn't help but blush at that.

Scorpius giggled and clung to his arm. "Let's get something to drink too, what do you say?" he asked, and that's when Albus snapped out of his stupor.

"Er, yeah, b-but let me fetch you something, okay? What do you want?" It had been his plan to be the perfect gentleman today for his boyfriend, so he better got started.

"One of those delicious, pink cocktails – the non-alcoholic ones of course," Scorpius replied and smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you."

Albus nodded, and in a fit of boldness, he pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's cheek. "Gonna be right back."

When he came back to his boyfriend and his parents a few minutes later, the drinks in hand, Scorpius thanked him with a kiss on the cheek as well. "Thanks, Albus!"

"Oh, don't. I mean. Pleasure," he stammered, but the blond grinned at him and raised his glass.

"Cheers."

"Cheers," Albus replied and clunked his glass first with Scorpius's and then with Draco's and Neville's.

They had not yet finished their drink when the Headmistress began with her Welcome Speech. She wished everyone a Merry Christmas, referred to the hovering mistletoes, and then invited the fourth years to assemble on the dancefloor to open the ball.

Albus couldn't help but feel very nervous once he had taken his place on the dancefloor with Scorpius. He really wasn't that good a dancer and he didn't want to embarrass his boyfriend in front of the whole school...

In all his nervousness, he nearly missed how sweetly Scorpius smiled at him. "Relax," he leaned in and whispered. "We totally got this, okay?"

"Okay," Albus breathed and tried to relax a bit – but he only managed to get hold of his nervousness when the music finally started and Scorpius began to move. As always, he tried to concentrate on his boyfriend alone and carefully followed his steps across the dancefloor. He still got some of them wrong, he was sure of that, but he was also pretty sure that the others probably didn't even notice his misplaced steps that much. Because overall, he was able to follow Scorpius and his boyfriend just looked breathtakingly _beautiful_ as he moved over the dancefloor.

Their opening dance was over more quickly than he had thought, and then everyone else joined in and Albus didn't feel so pressured anymore. After they had had another drink and a nice chat with Neville and Draco, he even felt bold enough to send Scorpius in a few twirls the blond liked so much – only to catch him afterwards, of course, and hold him close.

In the meantime, Neville and Draco had joined them on the dancefloor as well and Albus couldn't help but notice how great both of them were at dancing. He had seen them in Italy and knew that they worked well together as dance partners, but it was an entirely different thing to see them in dress robes on the grand dancefloor in the Great Hall. Neville was leading them and he looked absolutely confident and at ease in his role. And Draco was probably the most graceful dancer he had ever seen – next to Scorpius of course, who took just after his dad.

"They just _had_ to put up a show," he heard Scorpius whisper in his ear and when he looked at his boyfriend, the blond rolled his eyes a bit, but Albus could tell that he didn't mean it in a bad way. "Daddy loves the attention."

"Oh, I don't mind," Albus chuckled. "So no one watches my wrong steps."

"You're doing great," Scorpius replied at that, "I love to dance with you, Albus."

Albus had to smile. "I love dancing with you too," he said.

He enjoyed it so much, in fact, that after a short break to get some dinner from the delicious looking buffet with Neville and Draco, Scorpius and he took to the dancefloor again.

After a while of dancing, Albus noticed that his fingers that should normally be on Scorpius's shoulder had started to play with his boyfriend’s hair at the back of his head. He didn't stop though.

He felt how his heart was beating faster all of a sudden, and that only because he thought about the fact that they were a couple. That Scorpius loved him. That he wanted to be with him, close to him, kiss him, hold him...

"I-I have to tell you," Albus began before he noticed that he said that aloud.

Scorpius looked at him with a questioning smile.

"What I was thinking the moment I saw you in our dorm – should have said that earlier, should've said it then. What I mean is... your dress robes... I mean, not only your robes... you look good." He groaned about his own stupidity. "No. Wait. What I actually mean is... You're the most, bloody beautiful person on the dancefloor."

Scorpius beamed at him and looked even more beautiful. "You're so sweet, Albus," he then whispered and came even closer, "Thank you. I wanted to look beautiful for _you_ today. I'm glad it worked."

Albus could feel his throat clench for a moment before he could speak again. "B-but... you look beautiful every day...!" he assured his boyfriend with so much force that somehow their foreheads were pressed together now and he could smell the lilac and lemon – a-and Pepper Imps.

"Ha-ave you had any Pepper Imps earlier?"

Scorpius giggled a bit. "I did," he answered quietly and tilted his head a bit, "You know they are my favourite..."

"Yeah, of course I do," Albus said and felt his face flush when he asked himself if Scorpius would also taste like Pepper Imps when he kissed him.

"I think it was one of the first things I've ever told you about myself," Scorpius replied quietly, "Wasn't it? On our first train ride to Hogwarts."

"Oh Merlin, yes," Albus breathed, "I'm so glad that happened. I – I don't bloody know what I would do without you, angel."

"Angel?" Scorpius giggled when Albus had already said it – without thinking really. But his boyfriend still smiled sweetly at him. "I think I like that."

"Oh, er, I wasn't really, I mean – you like it?" Albus babbled.

"I do. _Angel_ ," Scorpius said as if to try out his new pet name. He giggled again. "Yes, I like it. Albus… _Freckles_. How does that sound?"

Albus felt the heat go to his cheeks. They started to hurt because he grinned like a dork. "As if I have to kiss you right now," he whispered and looked longingly at Scorpius's lips and then into his eyes.

Scorpius smiled sweetly. "Why don't you? Freckles?"

That's when Albus couldn't resist anymore. He put his lips against his boyfriend's, then on the corner of his mouth, then back in the middle where they were so incredibly lush... He moved his own a bit until Scorpius's full bottom lip was lying between his and it felt just _so_ amazing...

"You know...," Scorpius mumbled after a while, "I really enjoy dancing with you... but it's already quite late, so... shouldn't we go down to our dorm?" He grinned at Albus and bit his lip.

Albus really, stupidly and embarrassingly, stumbled over his own feet and had to hold on to Scorpius with flaming cheeks. Had his boyfriend really...? Had he actually...? Merlin, had he meant this like Albus thought he had meant it??

"E-er...okay?"

"We... we don't have to yet," Scorpius added and seemed unsure now, "I mean if you'd rather stay a bit longer. That's completely fine."

"No. Yes. I mean, _please_ ," Albus hissed and got angry with himself that he couldn't communicate what he wanted. "Let's go. I wan – I want to hold you," he added, very quietly, but he had said it. There. His hands were trembling.

Scorpius smiled and gently squeezed his hands. "I'd like that too. Let's just say goodbye to Daddy and Neville really quickly, okay?"

Oh, Merlin. And Albus had thought this could not get any more embarrassing... He tried to calm down so his face wouldn't look so flushed and give away what they would be doing. ...When, in fact, they wouldn't be doing anything. Just cuddle. And kiss. He hoped they would kiss.

_Oh, Sweet Salazar..._

"Daddy? I just wanted to say goodnight, because Albus and I are a bit tired..." Scorpius totally pulled it off.

"Alright, darling. Sleep well, hm? And then we'll see each other tomorrow to celebrate Christmas properly. It was a pleasure to meet you again, Albus. You should visit sometime over the holidays if you like," Draco added and extended a hand to him.

"Oh, yeah, I'd love to," he managed to reply and also said goodnight to Neville. Then Scorpius took his hand and lead the way.

That was necessary, because Albus's head was swimming. He could feel the tingling in his belly just at the thought of being close to Scorpius soon, and with the tingling came the twitching of his... his dick, ugh, this was so embarrassing...

But Scorpius looked so beautiful in that mystic, calm light that was coming through the windows in their dorm, and he climbed on Albus's bed, indicating him to follow, and then he let down the curtains and spoke a _Muffliato_ , all with his beautiful smile on his lips, and Albus was reaching out to kiss them before he could stop himself.

And Scorpius was _melting_ into him, drawing him close, holding him, kissing him sweetly and lovingly as if he couldn't have waited another second longer.

At some point they were flopping down onto the mattress, Scorpius's hair almost as white as the pillow, and Albus took in his scent...

"You smell so good... Why do you always smell so good to me...?" he whispered and was bold enough to kiss Scorpius's neck.

Scorpius let out a small gasp that sounded as if he enjoyed it a lot to be kissed there. "I d-don't know. I love your smell too, Albus..."

Albus had noticed that already when they had had their private dance lessons and ended up on the floor. So he kissed his boyfriend there again, grazing his lips over his pale skin, and then, when he opened his mouth a bit, accidently or at least unconsciously also with his tongue – Scorpius shuddered.

"S-sorry, is it... weird?"

"No...," his boyfriend breathed, "I'm... I'm getting goosebumps. It feels really, _really_ good..."

Albus smiled. That gave him more courage, so he bent down and did it again, and again, right beneath the ear...

Scorpius gasped and made sounds that stirred something deep inside Albus's belly. Then he suddenly buried a hand in Albus's hair and pulled him up to seal their lips with another kiss, and Albus just couldn't hold back anymore.

He had not the slightest idea what he was doing, how this worked, he just knew that it was about opening your lips against each other and letting your tongues touch. A bit like snakes smelled, and sensed and communicated... And he wanted to find out if Scorpius tasted like Pepper Imps and tell him how much he needed him.

And Merlin, it just felt incredible when Scorpius opened his mouth as well and their tongues actually touched in his mouth. It was... _electric_ and Albus never wanted it to stop.

But he _had_ to stop, eventually, because he felt that he was getting hard in his trousers, dangerously hard, and he didn't want to –

"Sorry," he gasped and threw Scorpius an apologetic smile while shifting a bit until he sat next to him, hopefully very casually propping up one leg to hide what was up. Eh, bad pun. "I, er...whew, it's really hot in here, isn't it?"

"It is...," Scorpius breathed and faced him with a smile. "Why... why did you stop?"

Albus smiled too, but awkwardly, and looked away. He shifted uncomfortably. "Er, I... I don't want you to get upset... I'm just..." He cleared his throat. "When we're close, I always get so..."

Scorpius reached out and gently took one of his hands, which really helped a bit. "What do you get so, Freckles?"

Albus had to smile at that, genuinely this time. He snorted in frustration and buried his face in his free hand. "I'm having a hard-on," he mumbled very quietly so there still was the possibility that Scorpius didn't hear him at all.

"Why do you think that would upset me?" Scorpius asked and gently squeezed Albus's hand. "I... I feel the same, Albus. I'm glad I didn't get an erection when we were still downstairs. I... when I'm close to you, I just... I feel so good, it... it happens really fast. But... but that's okay, right? That's nothing to be upset about. Do you... are you upset by it?"

Albus blinked a few times, then he felt a weight fall off his shoulders. "Oh. Oh, so you... you too. That's good. No, I'm... if it's alright for you, I'm not upset." He smiled and hesitated for a moment, but then he lay down again next to his boyfriend, and Scorpius turned to him to kiss him.

He actually snuggled up during the next kiss and Albus flinched a bit as his boyfriend's thigh brushed against his hard cock, but then he shifted a bit and could actually feel that Scorpius had a boner as well. "M-mh...," he couldn't help but moan quietly into their next kiss.

"That... that feels nice," he heard Scorpius pant against his lips. "B-but this is so... let's get... can we undress a bit?" he asked finally.

Albus hesitated, but only for a second. "Yeah. Of course," he answered and let his hand trail over Scorpius's dress robes. "You just look so pretty in those..."

Scorpius giggled, and to Albus's delight he went a bit pink. "But I want to – to feel you, I mean... like at the pool. I want..." He bit his lip. "Is that possible?"

"Of course it is," Albus replied and smiled gently, "C'mere..." He kissed Scorpius again and then, very slowly and carefully, started to undress him.

"Oh," the blond gasped and sounded as excited as only he could get. "Oh, we're doing it like this...! I like it." He giggled. "Go on, my waistcoat and shirt too..."

Albus smiled, still a bit nervously, but he was also... excited. He had thought a lot about how much he'd love to caress Scorpius's skin, _all_ of it, and now he... he finally got a chance.

It was a bit of an awkward struggle at parts, but not a minute later, they both were undressed to their pants, and even if he had seen Scorpius like this at the pool and when he changed or in the showers – it was something totally different since he was lying in his bed. A-and his pants were visibly bulging because...

He swallowed and forced himself to say it aloud.

"You're so. bloody. beautiful, my angel..."

Scorpius giggled again and drew Albus in for a long kiss. "You're really handsome too, darling. Kiss me some more?" he then pleaded and bat his eyelashes at him.

Albus made a sound between a groan and a moan, something he hadn't heard himself make before, and when he bent down to kiss his boyfriend long and deep, he also pulled him close, and it was a revelation to feel his naked skin on his.

Scorpius was warm and soft and... Sweet Salazar, he smelled incredible... "M-mh...!" Before he realised it, they were somehow rubbing their bodies against each other and in this way, their cocks were touching, through their pants of course, but it felt amazing and... "N-ngh, Scorpius...!"

"Oh," Scorpius made softly now that his lips were free again, and – oh, bloody hell, he was bucking his hips. "Oh, don't stop. A-Albus... t-this feels so nice..."

"Y-yeah... it does...," Albus whispered and he knew that it probably felt too nice, but there's nothing he could do about it. There's nothing he _wanted_ to do about it. He just wanted to be as close to Scorpius as possible, to touch him, to kiss him, to... "M-mh..."

“The… the pants,” Scorpius said after a moment, “It would b-be even nicer with-without them, right?” He bit his lip and put a gentle hand to Albus’s cheek. “A-and, to be honest? I want to touch your penis. I’ve seen it under the shower, and I want to touch it. Can I?”

 _M-merlin_ , Albus nearly came right there and he had to put up a lot of willpower not to. “Y-yes, Scorpius, please I… I want to touch you too,” he breathed and carefully hooked two fingers under Scorpius’s pants.

His boyfriend giggled a bit while he wriggled out of his pants, and Albus had to bite his tongue, hard, so the pain helped him to keep a cool head. At least what was left of it. Because Scorpius looked just…

“Oh fuck. You look so…”

“W-what?” the blond asked insecurely.

“I-I don’t know, like you were something very sweet to eat a-and I can’t hold back from trying…,” Albus tried to explain himself, even if he probably was only talking crap.

But Scorpius smiled at him nonetheless. “That’s very sweet of you,” he replied, “And you don’t have to hold back. Darling,” he added and then he gently pushed down Albus’s pants as well.

“Ooh, you’ve already got a bit of hair down there,” Scorpius noticed with a smile, and before Albus realised what he did, the blond reached out and stroked him there. “It’s so soft…”

“S-scorpius…,” Albus shivered at that and bit his lip. Merlin, what did the blond do to him? Everything felt like… like he was on fire when his boyfriend touched him…

Scorpius scooted closer, an excited glint in his eyes and his lips so red from kissing… Their legs brushed against each other, and then his hand grazed his cock and Albus moaned. Scorpius’s fingers felt cold against his hot flesh, but that was wonderful. Just wonderful…

“You’re leaking,” his boyfriend whispered.

“You too,” Albus breathed.

“I… I guess I just use that to…” Scorpius didn’t elaborate any further, he just did: He pressed his palm against Albus’s tip and smeared the creamy liquid over his whole cock as he began to stroke him.

“M-merlin…” Albus moaned and couldn’t help buck his hips into Scorpius’s hand. “S-so good, angel…,” he breathed and then carefully wrapped his fingers around his boyfriend as well to stroke him just like Scorpius already did with him.

It was cute how Scorpius lost all his coordination at the beginning and forgot to stroke him at all, but Albus wanted him to feel good. It made him feel good if Scorpius felt good.

“A-Albus…”

The blond started to move his hand again, and they kissed, and suddenly Scorpius climbed into his lap and they fell onto the mattress, where their legs entangled and their hips met, and somehow they managed to still get their hands between them to toss each other off while they couldn’t stop kissing messily.

It was one of the most wonderful things Albus had ever experienced, maybe the most wonderful thing since he was so close to Scorpius and he felt so… so loved and complete.

And then Scorpius made the sweetest of sounds, a moan, no a whimper, a lustful mewl, and looked like it was the most wonderful thing for him too, like this was heaven, and he wasn’t even a little bit ashamed that he enjoyed it so much.

Albus felt the heat rise in his belly the second Scorpius suddenly went very still, his mouth shaped like a pretty ‘o’, and then his hips started to buck again and Albus could feel him come in his hand, making the hottest sound ever.

Needless to say, he couldn’t hold on any longer after that and also came in Scorpius’s hand. He only moaned quietly, but he was sure that Scorpius could tell all the same that he had _really_ , really enjoyed himself.

His boyfriend was breathing heavily but smiling. Grinning. It was catching.

“Oh, this was… Albus, this…m-mhh, you know what? That was better than riding a Hippogriff.”

Albus couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “I hope so,” he replied and reached up to kiss his boyfriend. “I also think it was… really wonderful. And special. To do that with you.”

Scorpius nodded. “Yes, special. I hope we’ll do a lot of special things together in the future,” he added with a kind of cheeky grin, and stretched on the mattress with a content sigh, before looking at his hand. “Uh, sticky…”

“I’d cast a spell, but I think you’re better at that,” Albus replied and handed Scorpius his wand, “Or should we simply sneak to the bathroom real quick?”

“I think I can handle that,” Scorpius answered and took his wand to clean both their hands with a spell – oh, and then their bellies, which tingled a bit.

“Now we could just stay here,” he smiled and put both his arms around Albus. “What do you think?”

“Yes,” Albus smiled blissfully. “Let’s do that.”

Scorpius chuckled and rubbed his cheek against his. "I love you, Freckles."

Albus smiled lovingly at his boyfriend. then he pressed a kiss to his temple. "I love you too, my angel. So much."


	19. The Yule Ball II

"Do you think I should be worried?"

Draco and Neville had stopped dancing to say goodnight to their son and his boyfriend. "I mean it's not that late, they're obviously not _tired_..."

Neville interrupted him with a chuckle. "Yeah. Probably. But what do you think will happen that should worry you?"

"I don't know. I guess it's just...," Draco replied, but then he sighed. "I'm just very protective of Scorpius. But they've been educated in this matter and I suppose Albus would never do something Scorpius doesn't agree with, would he?"

"Absolutely not," Neville shook his head.

"Okay. Good." Draco sighed and tried to calm down. It didn't work that well. "I'm sorry, I think they're just _so_ young..."

Neville chuckled again and bent down a bit to be closer to his ear. "We were just that young when we had our Yule Ball. Wouldn't you have liked to leave earlier if we had danced together? Huh?"

"Sweet Salazar, of course I would have," Draco replied and sounded a bit exasperated with himself, "I know. You have a point. It's just... it's different. When it's about your own children. But I suppose I'm just very... you're Scorpius's father as well after all. You would say so if you were worried, wouldn't you?"

He could see Neville hesitate for a moment, then smile, like he had beaten him. "Okay, you know, I am worried. But it's just a feeling. As you've said, because he's our son. But then I think about how they always are when they are together, and I'm sure Albus would do _anything_ for Scorpius, and nothing that he doesn't want." He put his arms around Draco and nudged him with his nose. "So, no worries, okay?"

"Okay," Draco replied and he really did feel better. Neville had a point. Albus was very caring and protective of Scorpius – he wouldn't harm him in any way.

"Seeing as it's really not that late yet...," Draco then decided to change the subject, "How about another dance?"

"Hm," Neville made and didn't let go of him, his hands folded on Draco's lower back. "If I can keep holding you like this."

"Naturally," Draco nodded with a smirk, "Except for the occasional twirl of course."

"Of course," Neville grinned and started to move again to the slow music.

Draco followed his steps without having to think about it – dancing with Neville was easy and carefree. It was beautiful. He had to chuckle a bit when he thought about their own Yule Ball all those years ago. Neville was right. If they had danced together, he would have wanted to leave with him as well. Merlin, he would have liked to leave with _any_ boy at that age so he could finally find out more about those confusing fantasies he was having all the time.

But Neville would have been his first choice. Definitely. He still remembered how handsome he had looked that evening, how confident he had been on the dancefloor... with Potter's girl. Draco snorted and subconsciously drew Neville closer. Back then, he hadn’t been able to see what everybody saw in her. What Neville, of all people, saw in her. He remembered that it had annoyed him to no end – mostly because he couldn't do anything against it. It wouldn't have been possible for him to simply walk up to them and say "Move over, Weasley, it's my turn to dance with Longbottom now – what were you even thinking of taking him from me in the first place? Now, if you _don't mind_..."

"Darling...," he heard Neville whisper all of a sudden, "What are you thinking about, hm?"

Draco felt caught, but then again, his thoughts were just so ridiculous...

He snorted in amusement. "About snatching you away from that Weasley girl. _Move over_ , I'm telling her. _It's my turn to dance with Longbottom now_."

"From that...?" Neville repeated, but then he seemed to understand. "I don't know what I would have done," he then replied and laughed quietly. "I probably would have been so shocked that I'd simply danced with you."

Draco sneered. At least he was pretty sure he did. He hadn't done it in a long time, because Astoria had always told him he looked ugly doing it. But that would have been his expression then.

"I bet you did. Now shut up and move your feet, Longbottom."

Neville hesitated, but just for a second. Then he chuckled and did as he was told. "Bossy, are we, Malfoy?"

"Oh, you've learned to talk?" Draco raised one eyebrow. "And to walk on your own two feet without constantly stumbling over them apparently. I'm impressed."

"You should be," Neville replied and after a moment that he had needed to gather himself, he sounded very confident again. "I'm a very talented dancer. But I guess you've already noticed that or you wouldn't have told Ginny to go away. She's fierce, you know?"

"Oh, that won't help her," Draco snorted and tried to fix Neville with exactly such a fierce look. "If a Malfoy has set his eyes on something, there's no way stopping him from getting what he wants."

Neville grinned. "Yeah? So tell me...," he said and pulled Draco a bit closer still, "What _do_ you want?"

Draco tilted his head, so it wasn't all that bad that Neville was taller than him. "You," he said, probably not even as loud enough so the other could hear it over the music, but he was sure Neville could read his lips. "You. With me. On me. In me."

He felt Neville shudder a bit and had to grin. "How does that sound?" he added, his face now only inches away from Neville's.

"That, I mean, s-sounds very, er...intriguing," the taller one replied, with a cute stammer that surely was improvised – but his shudder definitely hadn't, and so it felt real to Draco, and he could see again why he had bullied Neville. To hear that cute stammer and see him blush. It was sick, of course, but it still worked for him.

"Yeah? Well, I think so too," he murmured, "But I'm afraid I don't want the whole school to know, so..." He gently pushed Neville away, who looked irritated. Draco was sure this wasn't faked and had to bite back a grin. Instead he leaned closer until he could whisper in his ear: "Show me how brave you got, Longbottom."

With that, he turned around with a grin, and went, slowly and teasingly, to the door. The one at the back of the hall, behind the head table, where you stepped into a quiet corridor with a small staircase leading up to an even quieter corridor...

Draco grinned as Neville followed him quickly and took his hand again once they were alone in the corridor. "Let's find an empty classroom, shall we?" Draco suggested and drew him closer.

"Er... okay?" Neville replied. It sounded like a question, and Draco remembered hearing that sound often during their school years. Permanently. But he also remembered it from more recent events when Draco was suggesting something (like what they would have for dinner, or what decoration they chose for the bathroom) and probably sounded so convincing that Neville thought there was no disagreeing.

Like right now. Although he was sure Neville didn't want to disagree right now.

He shoved the taller one against the closed classroom door and leaned in to whisper: "Show me, Longbottom."

He felt Neville shudder again and then the taller one leaned down to kiss him deeply and passionately and... roughly, _Merlin_...

Oh shit, he whimpered into their kiss. Not something he had wanted to do. He was supposed to seem... amused, or bored, or... but certainly not so bloody aroused...!

"So, what was that?" Neville replied with a grin and he really did sound bold, "You want me? With you?" He pushed Draco a bit further into the room, towards an old desk, "On you?" He leaned down to kiss him again, just as passionately as he had done before. "In you?" he breathed and bit Draco's lip.

"Oh, bloody...!" Draco put his hands on Neville's chest to shove him away a bit, but his pecs felt just too good and... Would it have been like this? Would he have succumbed to Neville in seconds if he had been so bold as to only kiss him like this? He would have been a virgin, in every sense. Judging by the way his face heated up, he must be feeling like one now...

"Don't you think I'm going to turn around and bend over now for you, Longbottom." Yes. Maybe he would have said that. Whilst wanting to do nothing but that.

"I don't think that's necessary," Neville replied and then his hands were at his back, lifting him off the ground and onto the desk as if he didn't weigh a pound. "I could have you just like that... what do you think?" he whispered and gently bit his neck.

Sweet Salazar, Draco was so hard already, he couldn't believe it. "I want to see you try," he said, no, he moaned, his head tilted backwards and his back arched in pleasure.

"Then you'll have to undress for me," Neville replied as he was kissing and licking his way along Draco's neck, "I mean you look... extraordinarily... _pretty_ in your dress robes, but... they are a bit in the way..."

Draco scoffed. He would have liked to, alright? It was more of a breathless, desperate cough.

"That's part of the challenge," he managed to say, his fingers curled deep into Neville's hair. "I know, buttons can be tricky for a clumsy Gryffindor..."

"We'll see about that...," Neville only huffed and then started to slowly open his trousers.

Draco held his breath. He wasn't going to beg Neville to go faster. Definitely not. He would endure this. He would...

"For Merlin's sake, can't you do this faster?!"

Neville laughed quietly against his neck. "Why are you so impatient? Tell me, Malfoy, can't you wait any longer for me to fuck you?"

Draco choked on his own spit. He knew he was blushing, he felt his cock twitch... Merlin, his pants must be wet by now... Why was Neville turning him on so incredibly when he was making him lose the upper hand?

"A-as if I – o-oh...! Yes...mmngh, yes..." Neville finally palmed his cock, having shoved his trousers down a bit, and it felt _so_ good. As if he'd been waiting for his rough hand the whole evening...

"As if you what? Say it, Malfoy, and I'll just leave you like that."

"N-no...," Draco whimpered. Damn, he didn't want to whimper again! But he did. And he bucked his hips, and then he kind of begged Neville to get out his cock and fuck him. Well, cross out that 'kind of'.

"Just fuck me already...," he breathed and pulled Neville down for a long and desperate kiss, "Merlin, Longbottom, _fuck me_..."

He could hear Neville groan into his mouth and rut against him, and then he was opening his own trousers – and, argh!, actually fumbling with it, what an idiot! What a sweet and lovely idiot...

"But... only want you to know I'm, er, big, okay?"

Draco snorted, but he could feel his cheeks flush with heat again. "I had hoped so," he replied and drew the taller one in for another kiss. "Just go slow at first, will you?" he then breathed against his lips, so quietly that he wasn't even sure Neville had heard him.

But Neville answered, equally quietly. "Of course. Don't want to hurt you."

Draco thought his heart started to melt. He tried to ignore it and instead took out his wand – something which made Neville flinch for a second. Oh, Merlin.

"Give me your hand," he said.

Neville hesitated. Then he seemed to realise what he was going to do, but – "Give me yours."

Draco raised one eyebrow, but then he just pointed his wand at his own palm and conjured enough lubrication for both of them.

Neville took some with his left one, then he grabbed him by the wrist with his right. "Give me yours," he repeated quietly, and guided Draco's hand down between their bodies until he touched Neville's dick.

" _Merlin_...," Draco moaned and for a moment, it really felt as if he touched Neville for the first time. He drew in a shaky breath and wrapped his fingers around his cock, imagining he had never touched it before... "You really are... _big_...," he couldn't help but whisper and actually swallowed.

Neville moaned quietly, his eyes almost closed, and eagerly pushed into his hand.

"Come on now, Longbottom," Draco said after he had let Neville enjoy himself for a while, "Let me see that you're not as clumsy with your fingers as you are with your wand."

"S-sure," Neville mumbled and reached between his legs to... "Can you spread those?" He pulled his trousers further down until they were stopped by his shoes, pushed his legs further apart and bent them, so that Draco had to fully lean back on the table now. "Yeah, like that. That's nice."

Draco wanted to protest that you couldn't speak to him like to a plant, but then Neville suddenly slipped between his legs from below, so that he was caught between Draco's trousers and his body, and soon after, there was the first finger rubbing over his hole.

"G-gah...," Draco couldn't help but moan as he pushed his hips towards Neville's finger.

"Greedy," Neville huffed. "You – you're doing this often? Making boys fuck you? I don't even know how you got me here. Okay, I mean... I think I do, but you're equally rude as pretty, s-so I don't get why I fall for you."

Draco snorted, but it didn't quite come out as nonchalant as he had hoped it would. "I've never...," he then replied very quietly, "You're my first." And it was true – Neville had been his first and it still flooded his whole body with an incredible warmth when he thought about that.

"Oh." Neville stopped, and Draco whimpered. He stopped and looked at him, and then there was a smile on his face that made the warmth just a bit warmer. "That's nice. I mean, that's... Y-you're my first too. As you can probably tell," he added, and his smile went so adorably shy that Draco grabbed him at the back of his head and pulled him down for a long, deep kiss.

"Keep moving...," Draco then pleaded quietly, "Your finger feels... it feels amazing..."

And Neville did. He pushed into him, bent it, moved around. And then there was the second one, pushing in, slowly, gently, but without hindrance.

"Oh, you feel s-so good," Neville gasped and Draco could see how concentrated he looked – when he decided to open his eyes for a moment.

"M-mhg...," Draco only replied and pushed back against Neville's fingers, "I want – _more_ , I'm ready, I want you..." He hadn't exactly planned to ramble on so much, but he just wanted Neville so desperately right now...

"A-are you sure?" Neville asked, scissoring his fingers one last time.

" _Y-yes_...," Draco replied and opened his eyes, "Come on, now, lo- ...Longbottom, fuck me..."

Neville pulled out his fingers, making Draco mewl at the loss of it. "If you call me Neville," he demanded softly. "Draco."

Draco moaned quietly. "Fuck me. Neville...," he replied and drew him in for a kiss.

Neville made it deep. And sloppy. But he could _finally_ feel his cock and – oh, _Merlin_... "Y-ah... Neville..."

"Draco... m-mhh, you're so tight, oh shit are you tight..."

Draco only whimpered in response and tried to draw Neville even closer. " _F-fuck_ me, Neville," he repeated because he just couldn't wait for his fiancé to finally _move_.

When he did, it was pure bliss because, oh _Merlin_ , Neville knew what he was doing. And it was just wonderful to feel him on him. _In_ him.

"Dra-co... m-mh...," the taller one moaned and Draco could only mewl with pleasure as he was trying to meet his deep thrusts with his hips.

It was over sooner than Draco would have thought, but they both enjoyed their little game just too much.

It was absolutely hot how Neville stayed inside of him for a moment and tried to regain his breath.

"That was... that was hot," he decided then.

"It was...," Draco replied with a quiet laugh. "You were hot,... _darling_."

Neville smiled and gave him a tender kiss before he pulled out. "Mmh, how I'd have loved to do exactly that with you. My love."

Draco moaned quietly at the loss of contact. "Well you did, didn't you? Just a... couple of years later." He grinned.

"Hm, you're right," Neville seemed to consider. Then he scratched the back of his neck with that endearing smile of sheepishness as he looked at the mess they had made. "And I have to face the truth that you still are the one to Scourgify us quickly if we don't want to have to go to Madam Pomfrey with missing limbs... o-or missing worse parts..."

Draco laughed quietly. "Sure, darling," he then said and reached out for his wand to clean up the mess. "Better like that?"

"Much better," Neville smiled and gave Draco a kiss to the nose before he pulled his pants up and closed his trousers again.

Then he ducked to escape from between Draco's legs. "Let's see if we can get out of here without being caught."

Draco chuckled and raised his eyebrows. "Keeping up appearances, Professor?" he asked slyly.

Neville rolled his eyes, and Draco might even go so far as to say he blushed. "I can't have my students know, I won't survive one single lesson."

Draco chuckled again and this time, it might have been close to a giggle. "Alright. We'll give our very best. Lead the way, darling."

It was thrilling to sneak through the castle at night, but playful, as if nothing really bad could happen if they were caught. Draco was feeling like twelve again, and his chest filled with so much warmth when Neville actually took his hand after the first three corners and their steps broke into a run.

They nearly bumped into someone when heading down some stairs and making it for the corner, and even though it was Professor McGonagall herself, Draco didn't find it in him not to giggle like a schoolboy.

"I'm sorry, Professor. We're a-already gone. Good, er, good night!"

Draco held onto Neville's hand who pulled him further, so all Draco saw was the Headmistress adjusting her glasses with raised eyebrows, before he was gone with a "A really good night!" too.

"I might as well be invited to your wedding, gentlemen, if you want me to keep quiet about this."

Draco nearly stumbled, but Neville didn't stop. "I-is she fucking serious?"

Neville laughed and sounded as happy as he was. "I don't care, I only know I can't bloody wait to marry you!"


End file.
